Karen Harding - Dutch Uncles - Brian Dunne - Maraschino

Karen Harding - It's Okay / Greener On The Other Side (feat. Cologne Chamber Orchestra)

Following on from previous single, ‘Strong For You’, Australian Singer-Songwriter, Karen Harding reveals the second half of her musical project with Argentinian P&M Records, with the dual release of ‘It’s Okay’ and ‘Greener On The Other Side’, featuring the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, on Friday 16th December 2022.

Written by Karen Harding and produced by P&M Records, ‘It’s Okay’ tells a story of self-frustration.. of believing that you should be somewhere, someone or somehow different than where you are.. and then allowing yourself to drop it and let go in compassion for yourself, letting yourself know that it is truly ok for things to be exactly as they are.

Co-written with P&M Records and featuring the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, ‘Greener On The Other Side’ was written when considering some big changes. It highlights the fears that come up with the change and questions whether what you imagine on the other side of change is truly the reality of how it is. Is the grass really greener on the other side?

“It was such an incredible honour to be able to have the Cologne Chamber Orchestra play on ‘Greener On The Other Side’. It has always been a dream to work with an orchestra, and to work with such a talented and world class orchestra is beyond my dreams” Karen Harding

Since her debut single release in May 2021, ‘I Didn’t Realise’, Melbourne, Australia singer-songwriter, Karen Harding has been on a journey of musical and personal exploration, determined to see what is truly possible in music and creativity.

Karen Harding has recently collaborated with Argentinian P&M Records, the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Canadian producer, Landao, Melbourne Hip Hop artist, Serif, and a stunning inspirational project with Misia Julia, as well as winning the 2021 Bendigo Bank sponsored Radio Eastern songwriter talent show and being nominated as top 10 winner for the World Songwriting Awards, and a nominee for Best International Artist on Crags Radio Independent Artist Awards in February 2022.

KarenHarding · It's Okay

 

KarenHarding · Greener On The Other Side (feat. Cologne Chamber Orchestra)

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Dutch Uncles - Poppin.

Dutch Uncles have released their new single “Poppin’" - the second track to be lifted from the band's long-awaited sixth album, True Entertainment, out 10th March 2023 on Memphis Industries. Named after the original demo of the track (as is tradition for one song on each of Dutch Uncles' previous albums), "Poppin'" was primarily composed by the band's guitarist and synth player Peter Broadhead and was partly inspired by Talking Heads' Brian Eno-produced albums.

Speaking on the lyrical inspiration behind the new single, vocalist/lyricist Duncan Wallis said: "Poppin' is a minimal take on the age-old anxieties, dread and fear we all experience at certain times - bumping into old faces hungover (or worse, not hungover), taking too long to answer the question ‘you alright?’, forgetting everyone’s name and constantly assessing if old faces were present at any moments of particular cringe in your past.”

Taking inspiration from Yellow Magic Orchestra, Prince, Steely Dan, Ennio Morricone, The Blue Nile, Kate Bush and Roxy Music, new album True Entertainment is the long-awaited follow up to Big Balloon (2017) and features guest vocal contributions from Metronomy's Anna Prior and Everything Everything's Jonathan Higgs.

Sharing new insight into the new album, Wallis commented: "True Entertainment is a soundtrack for the pursuit of anonymity within ever-changing societal norms, and the trappings that come with it. Those trappings are presented in a series of life-changing scenarios and epiphanies that include: abandoning one’s identity and accepting one's generation as a useless vessel; to suffering for betterment and dealing with challenges from other generations."

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Brian Dunne - Sometime After This.

Brian Dunne makes his debut on legendary indie rock label Kill Rock Stars with his new single “Sometime After This.” A transcendent embodiment of the phrase “this too shall pass,” the new single is accompanied by a music video that finds Dunne in the role of a barstool philosopher wandering the empty streets of New York City searching for what it all means. Dunne has also announced an east coast tour kicking off next spring, with stops in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Nashville and more.

“At its core, this song is my way of saying ‘this too shall pass’ but in a way that feels honest, and not like a HomeGoods wall stencil,” says Dunne. “It starts with a big idea and gets smaller with each verse. The first one addresses the social and political state of things, and how sad it is that we can't even agree on what it is that we disagree about (and also has the first, and likely last use of the word ‘email’ in one of my songs). Verse two is about everything that led me here, to this particular song, and finds me asking a classic NYC vampire - a sacred character to me - what exactly to do with it. And verse three is just about a single cup of coffee and how it all just comes down to that; being grateful for a hot beverage.”

Slim Moon, founder and head of Kill Rock Stars, explains why Brian Dunne is right at home on the label: “KRS means different things to different people, but we’ve always had a wing in the building for great singer-songwriters. In the 90’s we had Mary Lou Lord and Elliott Smith. In the 00’s we had Thao Nguyen and Colin Meloy (Decemberists). In the 10’s we had Corin Tucker and Justin Ringle (Horse Feathers). Now, we have Mya Byrne and Brian Dunne.”

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Maraschino - Walking On Thin Ice (Yoko Ono Cover).

Here's a non-album cover song from Maraschino that will fit right in on your Winter playlist (but maybe not your Xmas playlist!). A cover of Yoko Ono's classic "Walking On Thin Ice" from 1981. When John Lennon was shot, he was famously holding in his hand a tape with the final mix of this song on it. So sing along friends.

Walking on thin ice
I'm paying the price
For throwing the dice in the air
Why must we learn it the hard way
And play the game of life with your heart?

I gave you my knife
You gave me my life
Like a gush of wind in my hair
Why do we forget what's been said
And play the game of life with our hearts?
I may cry someday
But the tears will dry whichever way
And when our hearts return to ashes
It'll be just a story
It'll be just a story

Ai-ai-ai-ai-ai-ai-ai-ai

"I knew a girl who tried to walk across the lake
'Course it was winter when all this was ice
That's a hell of a thing to do, you know
They say the lake is as big as the ocean
I wonder if she knew about it?"

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Guise - Karen Harding - Derrero - Dear Misses - Quivers - Nervous Twitch

Guise - The Boy And The Thief.

Following the release of Guise’s debut album Youngest Daughter earlier this year, the folk fourtet are confirming its long-awaited release on vinyl today Friday (9 September). Commemorating the release, the band are delighted to present a new tour video for Youngest Daughter’s magnificent opening track: ‘The Boy & The Thief’.

A song that according to lead vocalist Jessica Guise “appeared like a snowball to the face”, so too does it burst from the blue with a supercharged sense of adventure.

With its lyrics delivered at a breathless pace, ‘The Boy & The Thief’ envelops the listener in a tale of love and luck that will resonate with anyone who has ever been waiting for their numbers to finally come up in the lottery that is life. As Jessica explains:

“Sometimes writing a song is like carving a sculpture or fishing by the side of a very still lake, but sometimes it’s just like being given a present that you have to unwrap really really quickly before it disappears. This was the latter; it started forming in my head on a long walk home one day and I had to run home to get it written before I forgot it. It’s about a friend of mine who was having no luck in love, and how we both consistently made terrible choices… The video is a tongue in cheek tour video aiming to capture the spirit of friendship, adventure and honesty that’s behind the band.”

From its spartan acoustic beginnings, to the galloping celtic thrum that soon overtakes; ‘The Boy & The Thief’ balances frenetic guitars with the finest of fiddle playing and makes for an exhilarating introduction to Guise’s accomplished debut album.

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Karen Harding - Drive Away.

Melbourne, Australian singer-songwriter, Karen Harding is halfway through the release of her 4 track debut EP, I’ve Got A Secret, releasing a track each month. Her third and latest single release from the EP, ‘Drive Away’ is released today Friday 9th September, 2022.

Written during the Melbourne, Australia Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, ‘Drive Away’ speaks to the desire to leave the mess, the difficulties and the current life experience behind and just escape.. or ‘Drive Away’.

“It is so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness and routines of life and sometimes we all experience days where it just seems so much easier to run away or escape the life we’ve created for ourselves. ‘Drive Away’ was written when I was experiencing this feeling. It was me, sitting with my guitar, daydreaming about the possibilities of getting away from my covid lockdown restraints.”

The four track EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ is being released one single at a time, each month, and will be available in its entirety by October 2022. The EP is available for purchase at Bandcamp in digital download and CD formats.

Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based folk/pop singer-songwriter with a passion for sharing a relatable expression of human emotion and inner experience within her music. For Karen, music is a soul conversation, that allows the masks that we hide behind to fall away for a moment of sharing.. a moment of mutual understanding.. in a language that does not discriminate in any form.

KarenHarding · Drive Away

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Derrero - Morning Star.

Celebrated Welsh band Derrero continue an unstoppable 26-year trajectory with their new album Curvy Lines.

Recorded back in Nov 2021 the album sees Derrero exploring new ways of working to expand upon their sonic palette and distinctive use of cut and paste song writing. Many ideas were traded across the web and new material was rapidly realized during 4 days of marathon studio sessions.

Maintaining a resolutely DIY approach to music making Curvy Lines demonstrates a strident and confident band who remain steadfastly unafraid to swim against the tide and self-produce and self-release uncompromising music outside of the mainstream.

The members of Derrero all met at Falmouth Art college in 1993: after studies, they evolved in Brighton before settling in Newport, Wales. There they released their debut single Tiny Shoes on Size 8 Records in 1997 and also their debut LP later that same year after signing to Big Noise records in Cardiff.

Since the bands foundation Derrero have released 4 critically acclaimed albums and toured with the likes of Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Sebadoh and Granddaddy as well as collaborating on the film ‘Beautiful Mistake’ with John Cale.

Derrero · MORNING STAR

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Dear Misses - Don't Let Her Down.

After the successful release of the first single 'Leaving Town', the Swiss band Dear Misses follows up with the second single from their country concept album - and the story about the outlaw Frankie Trombone continues.

With "Don't Let Her Down" the five-piece band devotes itself entirely to the country rock of the late sixties; two-part lead vocals in the style of the Flying Burrito Brohers, a honky-tonk piano straight from the Southern speakeasy and a pedal steel guitar that sweetens Frankie's heartbreak with a little hope.

Because in the new single 'Don't Let Her Down', Frankie Trombone is on the run, alone in the wilderness with the cold wind blowing around his ears. Alone with his Colt and a bottle of Booze, he ponders his sins and mourns his lost love, whom he will probably never see again.

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Quivers - If Only.

 Quivers, of Melbourne, Australia, have been an underground cathartic jangle pop band for long enough now to last year prick up the ears of Pitchfork, NPR and R.E.M., but it’s with a new 7” before their first US tour that they finally release the bats out of a cave and the secrets out of the bottle. Both songs see Bella Quinlan take lead vocals for the first time since the band’s full re-imagining of R.E.M.’s Out of Time (endorsed by the band themselves with fire emojis). Side A is a new original, ‘If Only’, and side B is a cover of Lucinda Williams’ mercurial ‘I Just Wanted To See You So Bad’.

All the best 45s slow down time and ask you to dance, so “If Only” is both darker and more danceable than 2nd album Golden Doubt could ever be (Ba Da Bing, 2021). While the bass and drums burn, and arpeggiated guitars scatter, Bella sings about longing for someone at the wrong time. If only I could make you love me, before you move overseas, what a fucked up thing to want, love should just be. The song is all if onlys, pushes and pulls, a song messed up by other songs about love. Bella says “it felt good to make a 7” which is a pop song but a really confused one, where every line goes back and forth between different feelings - more like love is in reality.” Don’t let it get into your lungs, she sings as the song lets too much into its lungs and just coughs up more guitars and tape loops. When recording "If Only" the band tried to imagine “being on a festival before Joan Jett, The Motels, and The Breeders and everything goes quiet and Quivers just has to deliver something.”

The recording of “If Only” is in a more minimal direction for Quivers, recorded in sessions for an upcoming 3rd album in Melbourne/Naarm again with producer Matt Redlich (The Paper Kites, Ball Park Music). Drummer Holly says, “once we found a pocket together on this song we wanted it to be a short song that feels long and big, where the more space you leave the bigger it gets.  It felt really right to sing alongside Bella, to hear her sing let romance rot all while sounding so into someone.”

The Lucinda Williams cover on side B quickens the pace and speeds time back up. Live, it kicks ass. The song was chosen for a cover according to Bella because “we all love lucinda Williams - there’s something very special about her honest lyrics and that pared-back, relaxed drawl. She’s really one of a kind! In my old Subaru Forester ‘World Without Tears’ was the only CD I had in it for the longest time, and we used to play it on our road trips to gigs. When the car died on a freeway and had to get junked for good, the CD went along with it. We chose “I Just Wanted To See You So Bad” to cover because we think it’s a hidden gem from her, and it felt so good to have a bit of a shouted call and response.”

It is a song that is certain about love. It is the rush of feelings as you drive that car in the middle of the night because you just want to see someone so bad. These two songs together show that Quivers want to drive in the middle of the night too, and after the “earnest earworms” (NPR) and “effortlessly tuneful jangle pop” (Pitchfork) of second album Golden Doubt what’s up ahead for the band might really surprise you. Grief and loss are hopefully in the rear mirror, and all kinds of other monsters real and imagined are up ahead. Bats everywhere. Tape loops in the sky.

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Nervous Twitch - History of the Wild West.

The new album by Nervous Twitch is like a guide to UK and US indiepop and indierock with nods to Mambo Taxi, Huggy Bear, Modern Lovers, Television Personalities, the Pixies, Sleeper, Ash, Lovely Eggs, Dressy Bessy, and even a bit of Swearin'. I could go on and on, but I say just check out their third single / video "History of the Wild West."

Nervous Twitch—talk about a perfect band name! Listening to their fifth album, Some People Never Change, it’s hard not to notice the nervous energy of front woman Erin Hyde’s vocals. Nervous Twitch built a solid reputation for songs that bristle with punk energy, mixing a vibe that also incorporates girl group passion, post-punk angularity, and even the occasional surf guitar cool.

Some People Never Change offers up a baker’s dozen tracks that deal in attitude and the personal. “We Don’t Care” takes on critics with a snarl, “What The Hell” takes on the frustrations of modern life, while “The History of The Wild West” deals with escaping the world for a less stressful one. But it’s not all anger as an energy; “This Mad At The World” is a ballad that show you can relate your frustrations in a gorgeous, acoustic ballad. “You Never Let Me Down” is a delightful love song with a girl-group vibe, while “Forgive Yourself” offers up a meditation in self-forgiveness.

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Catherine Elms - Karen Harding - Bite The Boxer - Chemical Club

Catherine Elms - Monday Eyes.

Catherine Elms is a dark pop singer-songwriter who combines untamed intensity with softly-defined edges; introspective and fierce in equal measure. Drawing on the raw, heartfelt emotion of Tori Amos and the brash power of Amanda Palmer, Catherine has found an evocative and cathartic style that is all her own. A self-taught non-classical pianist with a soft yet powerful voice, Catherine creates an epic and transcendent sound that explores millennial frustrations with sensitivity and quiet hope.

This third studio single ‘Monday Eyes’ sees Catherine’s rich vocals and haunting piano accompanied by an orchestral soundscape. Her confessional lyrics rail against the falsehood that we exist in a world where anything is possible, if only we prove ourselves to be “good enough.” The cinematic sound elevates this deeply personal and intimate journey into something powerful and universal. ‘Monday Eyes’ is accompanied by a compelling conceptual music video that blends Catherine’s spirited performance with the striking visuals of Scott Chalmers (videographer for Jamie Lenman, Birdeatsbaby, Saint Agnes).

 Speaking more on the meaning behind ‘Monday Eyes’, Catherine says: “I wrote this song during a bit of a quarter-life crisis, when trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Like many of us, I had always believed that if I just worked hard enough and proved myself worthy through collecting achievements, everything would fall into place, and success would find me. I realised that this is untrue. I found myself in a job that dampened my spirit, feeling like an awkward impostor, longing for something more, and mourning the future I’d envisaged for myself that never came. I think so many of us can relate to the feeling of getting to our twenties and entering the ‘real world,’ thinking “is this it?”.

 

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Karen Harding - Til The Ocean Meets The Shore.

Following the passion and excitement shared from the first single release of her Upcoming EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’, Melbourne, Australia based singer-songwriter, Karen Harding is set to release the second single, ‘Til The Ocean Meets The Shore’ today Friday 5th August 2022.

Written during the Melbourne, Australia Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, ‘Til The Ocean Meets The Shore’ is a deeply reflective and uplifting acoustic guitar focused story that dives into challenges felt and a realisation of how far we have come, and the determination that we can truly achieve anything we put our mind to, if we do not give in.

The four track EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ is being released one single at a time, each month, and will be available in its entirety by October 2022. The EP is available for purchase at Bandcamp in digital download and CD formats.

Music has always been a part of Karen’s life, beginning piano lessons at the age of 6 and singing lessonsat 14. She has played at many cafes and bars around the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in a combination of solo, duo and band performances, that have contributed to the sound that you hear today.
Building her repertoire, with 6 single releases under her belt, Karen has been steadily growing her following and name, having won the November 2021 Bendigo Bank sponsored Independent Songwriter Talent Show on Radio Eastern FM in Melbourne, Australia, for her single, ‘Anxiety’, Top 10 winner for the World Songwriting Awards, for her single, ‘Something Special’ and a nominee for Best International Artist on Crags Radio Independent Artist Awards in February 2022.

KarenHarding · Til The Ocean Meets The Shore

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Bite The Boxer - Way Out.

Way Out is the third single in a string of dreamy alt-pop releases put out by Bite The Boxer, following on from Forgotten (released in April) and Like A Ghost (June). 

Way Out combines a gritty and melancholic influence from 90s trip-hop with lush synths and vocal production from modern alternative pop to set a mood that seeks to take the listener on a journey to a dark place but in a comforting and familiar way.

Bite The Boxer (AKA Matt Park) often produces his music live on Twitch streams and has this to say of his process: “writing music live with people watching encourages me to trust my instincts and produce by feel; nobody wants to watch me do fine tuning and tweaks for 2 hours. 

I try to avoid over-thinking the process. If I can finish a 2.5 hour stream with the bulk of a song finished, and it sounds good then that’s an ideal result.”

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Chemical Club - Hell In A Heatwave.

Arts & Crafts newest signee, Ottawa duo Chemical Club, are sharing another new single, “Hell In A Heatwave”, with a video directed by their fanclubwallet bandmate Hannah Judge. The new track is an “honest look at who you are and how you can improve upon that,” the band says. 

“Actively seeking self improvement and pursuing positive changes over neutrality and repetition. Leaving unhealthy habits behind and holding yourself accountable for your own actions and behaviors. Staying comfortable and rejecting positive change is usually the easier option in the short term, but to actively pursue growth is necessary for long term fulfillment.”

Chemical Club is the project of Eric Graham (he/him) and Michael Watson (they/them). The duo performs tight, catchy indie rock songs, perfect for road trips or coming of age soundtracks that deftly weave naturalistic lyrics with reflections on love, death, insecurity, and growth. Having grown up around the corner from each other, the pair didn’t truly connect until their teen years when they began playing together in garage bands. 

In 2019, they formed Chemical Club and have since released a series of homespun, self-released singles and EPs that’ve earned them a passionate following over the course of the pandemic. In addition to Chemical Club, both members perform in ascendant indie rock project fanclubwallet, with Watson serving as fanclubwallet's co-writer and producer.

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Claude - Karen Harding - Pizza Crunch

Claude - roses.

Claude—the Chicago based existential dream pop solo project of Claudia Ferme—today shared “roses”, their second and final single off their upcoming debut full-length, a lot’s gonna change, produced with Michael Mac (Tenci, Tasha, Devin Shaffer, Mia Joy) and out August 12th, 2022 via American Dreams Records

The single “roses” arrives alongside a Reilly Drew-directed music video. On the track, Claude issued the following statement: "'roses' was inspired by a line in Love in the Time of Cholera where the protagonist starts eating flowers and roses because of how obsessed with someone he is. 

I think in the novel it’s supposed to symbolize how his obsession became all-consuming but I thought about a rose and the thorns on its stem and how someone eating a rose was a perfect metaphor for how as humans we’re so self-torturous, mentally and emotionally, and very unforgiving of ourselves. In the video, we wanted to show this imagery in a more abstract way while still including actual roses - I made the purple top and gray dress and am wearing other pieces that have peaks and spikes and that play with the making and release of tension to show the back and forth we have with ourselves in certain situations."

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Karen Harding - I've Got A Secret.

Following the release of her first 6 singles, Karen Harding returns with the first single release and title track from her Upcoming EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ on Friday 8th July 2022. 

Written during the Melbourne, Australia Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, dramatic singer-songwriter single, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ dives straight into the heart of fear and anxiety, when sharing a less than perfect side, that you know leaves you open to judgement from others. 

We live in a world that is filled with images of perfection.. Where we believe that to be good enough, we must line up with the messages that essentially only show the highlight reels of a life. This leads us to locking away our own vulnerabilities.. That is, until you reach a point, where you realise that your struggles are a secret that no one knows about. The idea of sharing these fills us with fear, questioning and mistrust, and this is the message within ‘I’ve Got A Secret’. 

The four track EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ is being released one single at a time, each month, and will be available in its entirety by October 2022. The EP is available for purchase at Bandcamp in digital download and CD formats.

KarenHarding · I've Got A Secret

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Pizza Crunch - Wilting Youth.

Glasgow alternative-rock group Pizza Crunch are pleased to announce their follow up single to 'Young Excitement' with new track ‘Wilting Youth’, which is set to be released on the 8th of July. 

The band are excited to release this track, having played it live at a sold-out King Tuts as well as at the Left of the Dial festival in Rotterdam and Stockton Calling. This release is the second of a plethora that will be unveiled this summer. 

Unlike the reflective tone of previous single 'Young Excitement', Wilting Youth arrives from a more yielded perspective, as the lyrics openly admit that the bright, vibrant days of the past have not only vanished, but they aren’t returning.  The track was produced, mixed and mastered by Chris Marshall (Baby Strange, Gerry Cinnamon and Declan Welsh and the Decadent West) at Castle of Doom Studios.

Pizza Crunch · Wilting Youth

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Angela Sclafani - Karen Harding - Katie Kittermaster - Timo de Jong - Sooner - Malin Andersson - Sophia Alexa

Angela Sclafani - Bell Jar.

Bell Jar is Angela Sclafani’s forthcoming single that blends her pop sensibility with compelling flares of folk and Americana. Inspired by Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel, the song uses literary imagery to encourage the listener to “shatter” the conventions that hold them down- be it family, lover, or state of mind. The single features production and instrumentation by producer/songwriter Katie Buchanan.

Sclafani is a New York City-based songwriter, performer, and theater-maker. She has independently released three original EP’s, History, Your Ghost and Blossom, as well as Edge Of Seventeen, an EP of re-imagined Stevie Nicks hits. Angela's music combines confessional lyrics with catchy melodies and dynamic vocals, often echoing the work of multi-genre singer-songwriters like Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles, and Norah Jones.

A two-time first-place winner of the Great American Song Contest's Adult Contemporary category, her music has been praised for its “engagingly original lyrical story, inventively appealing imagery and smartly crafted melodic design.” Angela’s music earned her a finalist spot in both the 2021 Unsigned Only Competition and the 2020 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. She was a 2020 semifinalist in the acclaimed International Songwriting Competition.

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Karen Harding - Something Special.

Following the success of her first three releases, I Didn’t Realise, I Heard Somebody Talking and Anxiety, Karen Harding is releasing catchy indie pop track, ‘Something Special’ on Friday 11th February 2022.

‘Something Special’ is a song written as a conversation to an individual who cannot see how special and valuable they are. They are riddled with self-doubt and low self-esteem. From the outside, the writer wants to tell them how much they are truly appreciated and how special they are.

“Christmas Day 2021, I was unwell and missed all the festivities.. Instead, I was able to spend the day creating the 16-layer song ‘Something Special’. I wanted to portray a sense of freedom and gratitude within the song and felt that nothing felt more like freedom than the sound of the ocean waves rolling in.. If you listen carefully, youcan hear this subtly throughout the song.”

Mastered by Pivotal Music’s Joshua Hennessy, ‘Something Special’ is Karen Harding’s first fully self-recorded and produced release. With music ranging from the singer/songwriter genre to indie pop, Karen Harding’s alluring vocals can be likened to the emotive sounds of Sarah McLaughlin, Sara Bareilles or Eva Cassidy or the more pop based feel of Gabrielle Aplin, Adele and Ella Henderson.

Music has always been a part of Karen’s life, beginning piano lessons at the age of 6 and singing lessons at 14. She has played at many cafes and bars around the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in a combination of solo, duo and band performances, that have contributed to the sound that you hear today.

KarenHarding · Something Special

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Katie Kittermaster - She Should Be Here.

When we ask Katie about the song she says: “I wrote SSBH during lockdown by myself. The song follows the story of a group of girls on a night out – getting ready to go, at the bar, in the bathroom, at the kebab shop and waiting at the taxi rank for a ride home. For me this song perfectly captures how I've felt about a particular friend who I had fallen out with.”

With her spry pop framework, Katie Kittermaster articulates the melancholy of young adulthood with wit, warmth and clarity. She possesses an ability to express some of the more difficult, confusing aspects of human relationships in a lucid, plain-spoken way. That makes her songs, even in their most downcast moments, a study of resolve, strength and triumph. Katie's latest single 'Good Liars' is a song like this and was played on 120 regional radio stations in the UK, including 'Amazing Radio' and 'BBC'.

With her spry pop framework, Katie Kittermaster articulates the melancholy of young adulthood with wit, warmth and clarity. She possesses an ability to express some of the more difficult, confusing aspects of human relationships in a lucid, plain-spoken way. That makes her songs, even in their most downcast moments, a study of resolve, strength and triumph.

Kittermaster was well aware of this power from the starting gun, leaning mostly on guitar and voice on her 2019 EP ‘Coming Home At Dawn’. Hitting the road with the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Scouting For Girls, Ronan Keating and Lucy Spraggan in her career’s formative stages made it abundantly clear that crowds really homed in on her honest, conversational songs, which have gathered millions of plays worldwide.

Katie Kittermaster · She Should Be Here

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Timo de Jong - Light At The End.

On Friday February 18, Timo de Jong will release his new single 'Light At The End'. This is the second single from his upcoming EP 'Dawdle'. An atmospheric song in which the question is asked where we are going.

“For me, 'Light At The End' is an expression of thoughts that I have been walking with for a long time. I think that we are now at a tipping point and that we have to be careful about which direction we choose for the future,” said Timo.

For this single, the Leeuwarden musician works together with a producer, Thomas Olivier, who contributes ideas about the process and makes Timo aware of his 'blind spots'. During the past six months they have worked on the music together, from demo to the final product. A conscious choice was made for a characteristic sound with a warm and natural-sounding production. For example, all of Timo's vocals were recorded with a microphone from the 1950s.

Timo de Jong is no rock singer. With a deep, warm singing voice he is more reminiscent of crooners like Chris Isaak, Marty Robbins and Perry Como. Although clear influences can be found from the 1950s to the 1970s, Timo's music can still be described as timeless due to the tasteful productions. He is an old school musician who lives for (and from) his live performances, of which he has done more than 600 to date. This includes three successful UK tours and performances in Germany and Belgium. Whether it's an intimate living room concert or a band performance in a pop venue, Timo does his thing and that thing is: making good music.

Revanche Records · Timo de Jong - Light At The End

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Sooner - Thursday.

"Thursday" is the lead single from Sooner's debut album, Days and Nights.

On the track, the band shares "Like a lot of themes in our music around contrast (i.e. Days and Nights), the lyrics are pretty different from the feel of the song – centered on a complicated and abusive relationship."

Formed in 2016, Sooner blends alternative rock, dream pop, and shoegaze in a style that is both lush and energetic – with Federica Tassano’s ethereal yet powerful vocals haunting every song.

After fits and starts and pandemic delays, Sooner are now finally able to bring their grand, whirring dream-pop to the fore. Meditations on a deep longing for an impossible love, dreams of being inextricably connected and nurtured by nature and heavier subjects in depression and addiction come together to rise up beyond the darkness and celebrate the depths of emotions.



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Malin Andersson - Reef.

Following her 2018 album Follow, which received critical acclaim from both the UK & Swedish press, Scandinavian singer-songwriter Malin Andersson returns with Reef – the first single from her upcoming album Space To Feel.

Recorded between London & Grästorp, Sweden with co-producer Anders Rane & mastering engineer Moritz Hausler (Bat For Lashes, Marina And The Diamonds, HONNE), Reef’s lush arrangement of ethereal guitars & textured strings is the perfect accompaniment for Malin’s mellifluous vocal style & intense sensitivity.

The idea behind Reef grew from concerns around the world’s environmental crisis & humanity’s elemental connection to nature. The song likens humanity’s direction of travel to a ship that’s sailed into a reef and now stuck, is trying to figure out how to re-establish some sort of balance, both collectively & individually. Malin says of the release: “Reef is the first in a collection of songs I’m writing about ‘high sensitivity’, deciding to no longer apologise for my own vulnerability whilst encouraging others to do the same. It’s a gift to be sensitive, use it & don’t hide it!”

The video was shot by London based film director Alex Simpson. Known for her work with Apple, Channel 4, Guardian & The BFI, Alex collaborated with Malin in pulling together imagery inspired by the lyrics & shot it on both digital & super-8 formats, creating a perfect amalgam of sound and vision.

Originally from the Swedish village Tibro, Malin grew up in a multi-generational musical household & at the age of eight she started writing her own songs. Citing musicians Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez & Anna Ternheim plus author Virginia Woolf & Swedish poets Edith Södergran & Karin Boye as inspiration, Malin’s gentle finger-picking guitar, along with her contemplative lyrics & evocative melodies soon caught the attention of SKAP (the Swedish Society of Songwriters, Composers & Authors), who presented her with the prestigious SKAP Award for Emerging Artists & Songwriters. Later, Malin moved to London where she collaborated with various songwriters & producers developing her sound. Also, since living in the capital, she’s played over a hundred shows at many venues including the legendary Union Chapel & The Lexington to name a few.

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Sophia Alexa - Hit and Run.

Fast rising newcomer Sophia Alexa continues to build the rising momentum around her name with Hit and Run, the follow up to well received debut single, House Of Cards. Having gained acclaim from areas such as Wonderland and Fashionably Early, Alexa beguiles again with her dreamy brand of indie -pop. Speaking on the release, she states:

I wrote ‘Hit and Run’ after I noticed myself feeling the need to escape every time I got too close to someone. I was afraid of feeling trapped or attached even if the relationship was positive. The escape felt like a defense mechanism and writing this song was a way to summarize that feeling. In the process of writing it I wasn’t sure if the title was too dark so contrasting it with more uptempo drums was a great way to hide the reality of the lyrics.

Sophia Alexa is a singer-songwriter with an intriguing background; born to German and American parents in California, she was raised in Amsterdam and has been based in London for over 10 years. Moving schools and cities a number of times, she often found herself feeling like an outsider and music was the one constant she could cling to. Growing up, Sophia developed an enduring love for classic singers like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Stevie Nicks and Neil Young who have all influenced her style, mixing folk-inspired pop music with an electronic edge and her soulful voice as the focus.

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