Browsing Tag

Ukulele Pop

Surrender to the divinity of Zanny Xy’s ukulele anthem, Hungry Ghost

After being gifted a ukulele and penning a song under a full moon, the debut 3-track EP, Chartreuse Phoenix, was composed, and the rest is far from history for the spiritually compelling singer-songwriter, Zanny Xy.

The standout single on the EP, Hungry Ghost, pairs the strikingly soul-stirring vocal timbre of Xy with the zealously plucked nylon strings that spill serotonin in exactly the same way as when Amanda Palmer picked up a Ukulele and recorded In My Mind.

After heading to Maui solo in 2021 to heal and rise from the ashes, Xy came out as trans, left a career in tech, and continues to travel and make music-full time through the belief that art is integral to the sanctity of the human condition. We wholeheartedly agree. If anyone has what it takes to lead the soul-seeking revolution, it is Zanny Xy.

Chartreuse Phoenix was officially released at the end of 2022; you can check it out by heading to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sahana Naresh explores the dualistic emotions inspired by motherhood in her soulful indie folk-pop single, ‘Milky Hands’.

Indie singer-songwriter Sahana Naresh has released her ukulele-led folk-pop exploration of the duality of motherhood, ‘Milky Hands’. Sonically, it is worlds apart from Amanda Palmer’s candid album, ‘There Will Be No Intermission’, but it still carries the same scantily found honest expression around parenting.

Milky Hands is a coalescence of Sahana’s love of soulful indie and classic Hindustani vocals, which means you get the bitter-sweet tenderness of a Neutral Milk Hotel single, along with the rich vocal melodies that stretch outside of Western boundaries.

If you’re a fan of rich accordant tones accompanying raw emotion, don’t hesitate hitting play.

Check out Sahana Naresh on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Violette – Eos: Ukulele-led Retro Americana Pop

The very talented Violette Remington – daughter of a musical family from Orange County, California – is a 19-year-old singer-songwriter with a penchant for vintage dresses, rockabilly stylings, ukulele, and guitar. With ‘Eos’, her third single, she delivers a cute little slice of retro Americana set to ukulele, but the star of the show here truly is Violette’s voice; lilting, soaring, and sing-song, with maturity and timbre far belying her tender years, Violette’s delivery is clearly honed by her years performing in musical theatre and performing for friends and family.

Listing influences as diverse as Linda Ronstadt, Debbie Harry, and Aretha Franklin, and taking inspiration from the 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll scene and the 1960’s musical revolution, ‘Eos’ is an absolute delight, a touch of the unique and genuine in a world of carbon-copy dance-pop and manufactured X-Factor bands.

Check out ‘Eos’ on Spotify, and follow Violette on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes