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California

Starya went interstellar with her cosmically ethereal electro-clash hit, Jealous

Posted on 4 February 2023

Fusing the provocative electro-clash energy and snappy vocal melodies of Peaches with the demure indie cool of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, the luminary art-pop songstress Starya’s latest single, Jealous, is tantalisingly interstellar. But that isn’t all; this alchemically amalgamated cocktail hybridises itself even further with elements of hip-hop, techno and dubstep, giving the bass a kick and the beats an irresistible pulse you’ll want to synergise with time and time again.

LA is known for breeding iconic artists by the applecart, but if anyone has what it takes to rock it and squeeze out new juice it is the singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ who is making light work of transcendent aural domination. Once you’ve had your jealousy fill, stay tuned for the upcoming EP, Find The Key, set to be released in February 2023.

Jealous hit the airwaves on January 31st. It is now available to streams on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

$LADEGEEKIN reinvented West Coast hip-hop with his intricately experimental hit, REDO

Posted on 28 January 2023

Indio, California rapper, engineer, and producer $LADEGEEKIN, has dropped his sophomore hit, REDO. If it has been a while since a hard-hitting hip-hop production has left an ever-lasting mark on your rhythmic pulses and psyche, delve right into the hit that makes it impossible to resist the mesmerism in the beats.

After an intro of inventively arranged effect-laden guitars, $LADEGEEKIN starts to bridge the gap between alt-hip-hop and the West Coast style. Even with the passion poured into the narratively vulnerable bars, they keep an assuredly steady pace to become the centre of gravity within REDO.

His debut single, $our Diesel, was impressive. With his sophomore single, he’s proven that he’s got exactly what it takes to make his way up from the Cali underground hip-hop scene. Save a spot on your radar. We’d put money on more infectiously intellectual hits being in the pipeline.

REDO was officially released on December 25th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

The waters of surf rock darkened under the psychedelic experimentalism of DETHHAUS in their latest single, And You

Posted on 26 January 2023

Take a psychedelic trip with the single, And You, from DETHHAUS’ double A-side, deathaus 2. Every time you think you’ve got their sound pinned down, there’s another aural curveball to broadside you and deliver you from the sonic monotony of easily pigeon-holed music.

if you can imagine what it would sound like if you slipped a tab of acid under the tongue of surf rock, implanted a few polyphonic grooves under the waves and threw in the crux of Zappa’s eccentricity, you’ll get an idea of what alchemically awaits when you hit play on this murky mesmeric feat of experimentalism.

After starting as a bass-centred surf rock duo, consisting of Johnny Void (X-Ray Youth) and Justin Welsh (Elastica), DETHHAUS indoctrinated Raiko Mud and his keys to start a new venture that would take the outfit across borders as they recorded this new single between Central Florida and England.

Stream And You on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

As Long As You Remember: Sani Knight flies into that special moment on Daydream

Posted on 21 January 2023

Seeing a captivating sunset and smiling rather broadly as he wonders if she’ll stay, Sani Knight gives his lover the most respect possible on the romantic foot-slider to slow dance with right now on Daydream.

Sani Knight is a 20-year-old indie RnB/hip hop artist who is based in Los Angeles, California and performs with a soulful edge many can only dream of.

Calming our minds like a fun snorkel in beautiful waters, Sani Knight sizzles with something rather special for anyone who needs to believe in love again. Calm and easy on the ear, we are treated to a radiant release which will clear any previous romantic disasters away rather quickly.

Daydream from Los Angeles, California-based RnB/hip hop artist Sani Knight is a rather terrific track which will see hearts soar in wonderful unison. Silky smooth vocally with an outstanding beat to cuddle tightly inside like a blanket in winter, this is a rather memorable release to embrace all evening.

When you know who you want to be with, the light will never turn off unless you want it to.

Listen up on Spotify. See the vision on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Sound Animal stirs souls with her spiritually awakening experimental release, See No See, Know No Know

Posted on 18 January 2023

Taken from the ambiently spiritual world music album, By Voicelight, the standout single, See No See, Know No Know, from the disarmingly compelling California-hailing artist Sound Animal will awaken senses you never knew you had.

With elements of dreamy synth-pop synthesised around the scintillating Eastern tones that nuancedly appear around Sound Animal’s harbingeringly celestial vocal timbre, the soundscape can comfort the disturbed as much as it can disturb the comfortable. The Clannad-Esque yearning vocal lines atop the rich instrumental tapestry that breaks the monocultural mould are nothing but unforgettable.

Listen to See No See, Know No Know on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

David Deutsch has unlocked the gateway to visceral repose, Free Shavocado

Posted on 16 January 2023

LA independent artist and composer David Deutsch has scored original music for films, TV, video games and VR interactive programs. Most notably, he scored for the film Last Survivors and contributed to The Suicide Squad, The Invisible Man, The Kingsman, and the Emmy-nominated series, Hostile Planet.

Now, he’s here with his serenely explorative release, Free Shavocado. The evocative work shimmers with sonic beguile as it leads you through the gentle yet dramatic orchestral crescendos and synth sequencing your rhythmic pulses won’t be able to resist enmeshing with.

With the Gospel-esque non-lexical vocals sporadically appearing to swathe the soundscape with surges of heart-quickening soul, Free Shavocado is a transcendental corridor to serenity and visceral repose.

Free Shavocado, taken from David Deutsch’s EP, Prism, is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Californian solo artist, Beau James Wilding, put the grit in folk with his reverently fervid single, SET MYSELF ON FIRE

Posted on 13 January 2023

With the choppy discord in the acoustic guitar strings against his gravelly punk blues vocals, the Californian solo artist, Beau James Wilding, orchestrated a roots rock masterpiece with his latest single, SET MYSELF ON FIRE.

We didn’t need his bio to inform us of his intense emotional relationship with sound and music. But learning that the relationship was strengthened after he was left legally blinded by a disease at eighteen made the fierily ardent passion in SET MYSELF ON FIRE burn with even more reverence.

Any fans of Dogs D’Amour and The Quireboys won’t want this fervidly impactful single to pass them by. The dark poetic imagery in the lyrics paired with the frenetic pace of the guitar rhythms that consume the instrumental arrangement with their ragged timbre is a sobering multisensory experience that reaches the pinnacle of gritty folk.

SET MYSELF ON FIRE will officially release on January 13th. Stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

School is in session for Monicasuperiorroze’s lesson on sensuality in her seminal single, Close

Posted on 11 January 2023

The spotlight is moving ever closer to the sensuous soulstress, Monicasuperiorroze. The Palmdale-residing RnB artist brought as much heat as the Cali sun she finds her inspiration under in her seminal single, Close.

The kicked-based grooves and sultry harmonies set an elevated laid-back tone, while the lyrics show how visceral affection should always be. With nuances of trip-hoppy jazz written into the extended mix and ample room for vocal progression and tensile amplification, Close is a whirlwind for all the senses.

There is a discernible boldness and confidence in her indie RnB stylings; she could never be accused of being assimilative. If she’s following any rulebook, it is the one she constructed from the confetti after ripping up the rules laid down by everyone before her.

Stream Close on YouTube. Follow Monicasuperiorroze on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lebanon-born EDM artist C:3 powers in with pulsating party anthem I Just Dance

Posted on 9 January 2023

Jumping to the beat and soaring rather wonderfully up into the skies of promise, C:3 is in top form and might rattle the bones of those who love a splendid night out with music to clear the mind with called I Just Dance.

C:3 is a Los Angeles-based Lebanon-born electronic music producer and DJ who makes those soul-awakening tracks to dance with all night long.

”His love for music started at a young age where he would stay up late at night in his basement researching and teaching himself different music programs.” ~ C:3

Fusing in the vibrant sounds of tech-house, bass-house, Latin, and captivating Middle Eastern blends of goodness, C:3 has dropped a rather spectacular Spur-like sizzler on this special song to get sweaty with. Slamming down the pulse and setting the tempo with a rather enormously consequential experience, this is such a fantastic single to bounce merrily with.

I Just Dance from Lebanon-born music producer and DJ C:3 is a superbly lit soundtrack to bathe happily inside. Skyrocketing rather enormously with so many exhilarating flavours to munch into, this is a sure-fire mood flipper which is on the same level as a Shane Warne ripper. Hugely motivated and strong like its creator, we find a heart speeder to blossom inside rather dynamically.

Hear this fine single on Spotify. See more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Erika Levy blurred the line between grief and joy in her indie Avant-Garde single, Chicken and Rice

Posted on 5 January 2023

LA singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist Erika Levy closed 2022 with the release of her elevated alt-indie single, Chicken and Rice, which captures the desolation of the world in the absence of anchoring connection. Haunting and affirming in equal measure, your soul won’t know what’s hit it once you delve into the monochromatic sorrow flowing through her filmic vocals that establish her as a 21st-century chanteuse.

“I’ll get higher once I hit the ground, just takes a little bit to find me, Hey lonely, come buy me another round” is a lesson in heart-breaking lyricism; projected with such grace and finesse, the vulnerability is flooring. In place of pity, you’ll find appreciation for the strength she amassed to lyrically blur the line between grief and joy.

Any fans of Tori Amos, Amanda Palmer, Kate Bush and Fiona Apple will be disarmed by the sheer originality of Levy with the baroque nature of her descending piano melodies that become the off-kilter centre of her 70s folk-pop sonic world.

Chicken and Rice is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast