Browsing Tag

Funk Pop

Ami Leigh drenched Wait & See in discoball-synaesthesia and neon-lit nostalgia

Posted on 23 November 2025

Ami Leigh proved yet again that there’s no genre she can’t turn her talent to in Wait & See, her discoball-synaesthesia-soaked single. Through vocals carrying the seductive power Madonna held in her 80s era and a handful of cheeky ABBA-chord flourishes thrown into the disco-funk-pop mix, the staccato-licked earworm pulls you straight into a neon-lit kaleidoscope of euphoria.

The thematic centre sits far deeper than hedonism, circling the soft liberation that comes from knowing you’ve got someone who feels like home. It taps into that strangely pure sensation where some people feel nostalgia for moments mid-bloom, long before they’ve even passed. If that’s you, you’ll recognise the ache instantly, and Wait & See becomes the ultimate 70s-steeped reminder to live every second fully.

The single reflects the upbeat heart of the story behind it. It captures a couple at a party riding the wave of a night so good they want to freeze it in time. Even the cameo from Sweep, whose squeak opens the track, springs from a studio in-joke between Ami and producer Neil Gibson, who keeps the puppet perched on his mic as a dust cover.

That sense of fun is stitched subtly through the production, a hint at the creative atmosphere Ami has cultivated throughout her career. After years of building her reputation across the North East, appearing on BBC Introducing, reaching number one on international stations, collaborating with artists across continents, and releasing an EP that confirmed her commitment to her path, she’s continued to sharpen a sound that feels instinctively hers, regardless of the stylistic shifts.

Wait & See is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Havyah hacked rhythmic inertia with the funk-fuelled experimental indie anthem ‘Awake’

Posted on 11 November 2025

Havyah took indie folk down a rhythmic-pulse-bending, uncharted corridor with their riotously experimental debut single, Awake. Visceral vitality runs through the veins of the release, which laces the freeform expression of jazz into the kinetic current of indietronica to construct a track monumentally larger than the sum of its groove-riddled parts. There’s no restraint, no cautious toe-dipping. This is a full-bodied plunge into a euphoric soundscape designed to electrify anything it touches.

If any upcoming UK act is destined to break through on the scale of Lola Young, Sam Fender, or The Last Dinner Party, it’s this trailblazing duo. Awake is the ultimate antidote to jaded inertia; a beat-charged invitation to shake off the sluggish haze of modern dread and live as vicariously as the rhythms demand. It doesn’t ask politely. It compels. With sweetly enlivening vocal inflexions and the ability to bleed syncopated alchemy into the airwaves, Havyah have certified themselves as sonic serotonin-dealers. This track belongs on every indie dancefloor, across the charts, and on loop in your head for the foreseeable.

Formed officially in Mile End in 2020, the British duo of Anthony Kluge and Sam Dennis started their collaboration after meeting at school in Spain in 2003. Their band name nods to the Spanish town of Javea, where their friendship began. Drawing on years of creative synergy, Awake, released on 13th September 2025, delivers a candid reflection on insomnia, where restlessness is transmuted into something life-affirming. Havyah’s forthcoming EP promises to carry that same infectious charge. We’ll be waiting with baited breath, now that we’re officially obsessed.

Awake is now available on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Frances Madden Gave Nostalgia New Wings with Soul-Soaked Indie Pop in ‘Next Flight Home’

Posted on 25 September 2025

Next Flight Home is metaphorically enough to set your soul in motion towards the object of your emotional gravity. Nestled within the radio-ready indie-pop production is the seraphic bliss of 60s and 70s nostalgia; a kaleidoscope of languid haze spills through every progression, carrying the soft charm of a coffee house soundtrack, nuanced drippings of funk, and the spirit of a country gospel sermon. Hovering above the genre-fluid tableau of aural emotion are Frances Madden’s dusky harmonies that make you forget you’re listening to a contemporary track instead of an LP crackling on a vintage turntable. Sublime doesn’t even come close to cutting it when describing Madden’s imprint on the airwaves.

Sydney-based Frances Madden has made a name for herself by fusing jazz, soul, and pop into lush sonic daydreams. Her music has earned acclaim across Australian radio, and her previous releases have racked up impressive streaming numbers while drawing comparisons to the golden era of jazz-influenced pop.

Backed by a world-class band and a penchant for smoky, narrative-driven lyricism, she’s one of the few modern artists who can make nostalgia feel brand new without losing her pulse on the present moment. Next Flight Home is a testament to that ability, stitching together sepia-tinged romance with playful retro textures to create a track that feels timeless but refreshingly unpretentious.

Next Flight Home is now available on all major streaming platforms via this link. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Isabelle Gitlin Demands Full Surrender with Primal-Funk-Infused Pop in ‘Feel My Soul’

Posted on 25 August 2025

Once you submerge yourself into the scintillation of Isabelle Gitlin’s Feel My Soul, you’ll instantly realise that the title isn’t a request, it’s a demand; an unflinching expression of her need to disrupt perception through a visceral reflection of who she is.

The way her harmonies resound and reverberate through the textured production, moving past the point of synergy and into full vocal dominion, affirms that Gitlin is a force of nature. Her vocals don’t sit on top of the instrumentals; they inhabit them, pulsing through each beat with a sense of metaphysical soul that feels both ancient and immediate.

While Feel My Soul radiates with infectious pop magnetism, the slick splinters of funk elevate it far above disposable disco-tinged pop. It carries primal intensity, not in opposition to its mainstream appeal, but woven directly into its core. It’s an impossible paradox that only makes sense when wrapped around a track this instinctively bold.

Hailing from Boston, Gitlin is now working on a full collection of songs that promise to keep bleeding soul into the bones of pop. If this is her leap into the future, she’s already landed.

Feel My Soul is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify. 
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Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brighton’s Standing Phase Poured Soul, Funk, and Alt-Indie Pop Euphoria into their Sonic Temple, ‘Anchor’

Posted on 10 August 2025

With Anchor, Standing Phase found the sweet spot where alt-indie style meets gospel spirit. The Brighton-based duo let their guitars cut clean and sharp enough to rival the angular sheen of post-punk icons Interpol, then layered in euphoric sweeps of funk-kissed piano chords that nod to ABBA’s timeless melodicism while staying firmly in the now. The result is a track that drips aural honey, sweet and heady enough to leave you on a high.

Charly Jay-Wood’s vocals carry the same kind of mysticism and emotional depth that made Stevie Nicks’ delivery feel like prophecy, yet here, it’s tethered to Luis Wood’s intricate guitar work and a rhythm section that moves with purpose and grace. It isn’t a love song by numbers; it’s an ode to the sanctity of affection, a piece that breathes life into its sentiment until it feels tangible and proves that when it comes to Standing Phase, it will never be ‘just another love song’.

Having honed their chemistry since their days performing together in New Zealand, Charly and Luis have refined their craft under the guidance of heavyweight collaborators like Mark Edwards and Troy Miller. With producer Josh Gale shaping their current sound, Standing Phase are proving themselves as one of the most original up-and-coming outfits on the scene, setting the stage for their debut album with a release that feels like both a statement and a promise.

Anchor is now available on all major streaming platforms – including Spotify. 


Review by Amelia Vandergast

904 Rewrote the Rhythm of Reality with Their Kinetically Charged Electro-Funk Hit ‘Like a Film’

Posted on 30 May 2025

904’s latest track, Like a Film, doesn’t just soundtrack life through a lens, it reprogrammes perception through a fusion of funk, pop, rap, and indietronic disco grooves synthesised to make you move with the relentless momentum of the beats and equally as kinetically energising synths and vocals, which bring the smooth with the frenetic to keep the energy to the nines.

With all the hallmarks of a definitive funk pop earworm and rap verses that allow the up-and-coming outfit to wax lyrical with a euphoric pulse, Like a Film is cinema for the rhythmic pulses. The structure is tight, but the sound is anything but contained. It unfolds like a visual montage of hedonistic highs and sweat-slicked dancefloors. From the first drop, the rhythm is built to incite motion. The swagger in the bars amplifies the groove rather than halting it, making space for flex and finesse to co-exist without compromise.

904 are already proving their ear for what hits hardest without falling back on nostalgia or gimmicks. They charge ahead with total conviction, keeping production values on par with their ambition. If your playlists are littered with artists in the vein of Daft Punk, you won’t hang around finding a place for 904 on your radar. But even without the sonic references, the magnetism in this single will do the heavy lifting.

Like a Film is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.


Review by Amelia Vandergast

Blue Bayou Blew the Lid off Indie Pop Convention with the Electrically Unhinged Euphoria of ‘Hide and Seek’

Posted on 23 May 2025
Blue Bayou

When an artist becomes impossible to ignore off the back of their debut single and the strength of their live sound alone, that becomes the mark of an artist that will stand the test of time, even in an era of ephemeral trends. The organically rich vibrancy within the sophomore single, Hide and Seek, is only going to make it harder for Blue Bayou to keep a low profile in the music industry.

For decades, Frank Zappa set the bar for eccentric funked-up colour, but it would appear that Blue Bayou have transcended it with the electrically zany arrangement in Hide and Seek, which makes no attempt to temper the quintessential charm of an artist following their muse to idiosyncratic corners of the airwaves to unlock exhilarating synth appeal with indietronic disco chops to die for. There’s a real sense that if you buy a ticket to a Blue Bayou show, you’ll be sonically born again.

With their reputation built through infamous live sets in Oxford and on stages shared with Max Blansjaar and Danny Mellin, Blue Bayou haven’t just flirted with anticipation – they’ve earned it. Their chamber pop instrumentation – soaked in trumpet stacks, disco strings, arpeggiating Juno lines, and diegetic chaos – is a meticulous riot. Hide and Seek is an audacious love letter to both Dury-esque absurdism and WH Auden’s precision.

Their status as Oxford’s most in-demand live band has already been secured, and with Chris Barker at the production helm, Blue Bayou’s rise from cult live fixture to alt-pop phenomenon is starting to write itself.

Hide and Seek is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anirban Jee Soaked the Soul of Disco in Retro Pop Gold with ‘Are We Gonna’

Posted on 28 April 2025
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=CXuEg-fVvUo&si=hVCae7KRJQXqhecp

Are We Gonna by the internationally notorious chart topper, Anirban Jee licks retro pop with swathes of funk, giving the glow of a disco ball lighting above a gyrating dancefloor. The serotonin flows as easily as the Nile Rodgers-esque staccato guitar rhythms in the melodious rapture of the track that lifts as much as it hits the sweet spot tucked away in your soul. With a voice that reaches the pinnacle of euphony through infectious charisma, Are We Gonna is an earworm you’ll want to nurture forever.

Known for rewriting the rules of pop, urban, and R&B composition, Airban Jee’s discography is a testament to his endless creative evolution. From his early start at twelve with an electronic keyboard to multiple chart-topping singles and collaborations with heavyweight producers like Simon Cohen and Steve Peach, his career has been a masterclass in soulful, lyrical expression. With accolades including Songwriter of the Year awards, multiple #1s on the World Independent Music Charts, and extensive commercial radio airplay, he’s become a driving force on the global stage.

Following successes with tracks like Will Above My Wish and You On My Side, Are We Gonna continues the momentum, proving that when it comes to creating timeless anthems, Anirban Jee knows exactly how to hit the visceral marks.

Are We Gonna is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Keli Woods’ ‘Around the Sun’: An Alt-Pop Anthem Illuminating Life’s Luminous Transience

Posted on 6 April 2025

Keli Woods’ latest single, Around the Sun, masterfully plunges listeners into vivid visualisations of its emotive thematic depths. Bathed in tonal warmth from the opening rays emanating from acoustic guitar strings and magnetically arresting vocals, the song immediately invites you into its temperate bliss. As the track progresses, synths scintillate grooves and beats as a funk fusion is dripped into the soul-driven earworm,  further textured by folk-esque instrumentation, amplifying Woods’ storytelling chops.

Possessing a dance-worthy chorus balanced by verses that encourage introspection, Around the Sun leaves little unfulfilled. By the outro, the track becomes a celebration, fortifying our gratitude for the fleeting sands of time and our shared human existence.

Woods, a UK-based multi-instrumentalist and former monk, distils his diverse experiences—ranging from big band swing and Vedic kirtan to musical theatre—into profoundly soulful compositions. Once poised for West End stardom at just 11 and leading a teenage jazz band touring Swansea’s streets in their whimsical ‘Jazz Ambulance’, Woods stepped away from music to seek deeper meaning through monastic life. Returning with renewed purpose, he now harnesses music as a conduit for philosophical exploration, crafting lyrical narratives that confront life’s significant questions with fearless authenticity.

With Around the Sun, Keli Woods has delivered a luminous alt-pop anthem—a reminder of our innate desire to savour existence.

Around the Sun is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Francesca Pichierri’s ‘Amen’ Strikes Alt-Pop Gold with a Groove-Soaked Rebuke

Posted on 25 March 2025

Francesca Pichierri never lets sentimentality get in the way of precision. With ‘Amen’, her fifth single and a pivotal chapter in her concept album Cellule Stronze, she lays a satirical yet razor-sharp lens on cancer ghosting—the social retreat of those who disappear when illness walks into the room. Rather than wallowing in the emotional wreckage, she chooses to let irony march straight to the dancefloor.

Musically, Amen firmly implants alt into pop. Retro-futurist synth lines and swathes of synthesised bass bring the funk, summoning a sound reminiscent of Depeche Mode warped through the lens of South American disco and gospel. But it’s Pichierri’s performance that overrides the energy of the release. Her vocal lines carry a seraphic sanctity, acting as a vocal exorcism of all the shallow well-wishers and their hollow “thoughts and prayers”.

You plug into Amen—not the other way around. It strips you of autonomy with its animatronic pull, transposing darkness into an earworm of euphoria. The lyrical sting doesn’t get lost in the groove. Instead, it’s accentuated by it. Her vocal delivery pivots from soulful sincerity to smirking irony with a deftness that makes every line land harder. It’s funk with bite. Gospel with gall. Dance music with a grudge.

With Amen, Pichierri soundtracks the uncomfortable silence left by those who recoil from pain—and she sets it to a beat they can’t ignore.

Amen is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast.