All the Latest Music News on Nagamag

The song will make you feel dreamy with its delicate chimes and choruses of multiple layered vocal harmonies, I was inspired to write it after seeing leaves dance in the breeze behind my bedroom blinds and while contemplating a complicated relationship and a new job that was about to start. I hope you like it! Thanks for listening.

https://www.facebook.com/sarahreiwitchmusic

Sarah writes folk-inspired tunes with heartfelt vocals on her acoustic guitar. She’s inspired to create songs by all the moments of joy, ecstasy, heartbreak, and grief that she passes through. She draws from her varied background of musical influences, from 70s folk/rock to modern indie-folk to several styles of Brazilian music. She is often likened to Joni Mitchell for her exploratory guitar style, alternative tunings, soulful vocals, and intensely personal lyrics. In addition to Joni, Sarah cites Adrianne Lenker, Brandi Carlile, and Cássia Eller as artists she resonates with.

Sarah is a multi-instrumentalist who creates music on the piano and acoustic guitar, then layers on other instruments. She has a background in Brazilian percussion and dance, which she studied for nearly a decade, and is a published poet.

https://www.instagram.com/sarahreiwitch/

It’s a song about going into the unknown. Acoustic vibes with a deep and sad message as undertone. Going ‘into the wild’ is actually not what most people would think from first listen.

https://www.instagram.com/Rudyb.official/

Often things come full circle. As a child John William Richard’s love affair with music began as a classically trained musician, with hours spent studying both the piano and cello. However a lifetime has been spent elsewhere, from, amongst other things, fronting a new romantic group, managing artists, starting a label and running a nightclub. Now, with the release of ‘Hello’, John William Richard returns to the rigour of the Classical tradition, mixing that with flashes of contemporary electronica, creating something that is both intimate and breathtakingly cinematic.

“I think in film images when I write and as the world comes into focus the scene emerges and the internal director takes over. ‘Hello’ seemed like the perfect starting point and introduction to a project that has taken on more of a life than I ever expected.”

Much of the recording was done in his home studio in Bath, but to get the piano sound he wanted he decamped to legendary Rockfield Studios in Wales.

“It felt absolutely right to be recording piano at one of the great studios of my lifetime. The Yamaha grand was my choice and to finding a hammond there waiting for one of the tracks seemed serendipity ”

With over 20 compositions recorded and ready to go, and a growing list of collaborators, both home and abroad, including the introduction of Bruno Ellinhgam (Massive Attack, UNKLE) to mix the record, John William Richard’s return to his musical roots is taking on a new life of its own.

https://www.instagram.com/john_william_richard/
https://johnwilliamrichard.bandcamp.com/

British singer-songwriter Osborne, real name Richard Osborne, releases his brand new single, “Feel The Same”, which has landed Spotify’s New Music Friday UK and New Dance Revolution editorial playlists.

The electronic artist, from Ipswich, UK showcases his smooth, laid-back vocals, fused with melodic hooks on “Feel The Same”, a feel-good dance anthem. The new single, produced by L U, follows from his 2018 debut single “Complete”, which was remixed by French-Canadian producers Lucky Rose, and amassed over 15 million streams across digital platforms, with 12 million streams on Spotify alone. The remix became a viral hit in Europe, where it reached the iTunes Download Chart in countries such as Norway, Austria, Poland, Sweden, and Estonia, and made Spotify's Viral 50 chart in Norway.

Osborne has been recording and writing, for himself and others, for several years, while collaborating with various artists. When he first started out as a recording artist, he was invited to the BBC Maida Vale Studios in London, to attend their annual master class for musicians, on the cusp of breaking through to a wider audience. He has collaborated with the likes of Grammy award-winning Dice Raw of the legendary group The Roots

https://www.instagram.com/osborne_music/

A male colleague watched Only Bricks lead vocalist and songwriter Anne DiGiovanni get on an elevator wearing high heels and said “Oh, are you wearing your big girl shoes today?” She felt humiliated, belittled, and unsure - but just laughed it off.

It took several years and much inner reflection before the song “Big Girl Shoes” was born out of that moment in a writing session with the band’s guitarist and songwriter Joseph Lewczak and co-writer Samantha Margret. According to Anne, “‘Big girl shoes’ are a metaphor for the double bind of needing to look feminine but not too sexy, an added weight women carry at work on top of their normal job responsibilities.

Produced by long time collaborator Cameron Stymeist, the pair wanted the recording to reflect women’s power without sounding angry - a song with a pop surface and a punk soul. “We hope that came through in the production,” said Joseph. “We added guitar feedback and cable noise in the breakdown to give it a bit of a live, in-your-face feel, and the dirty 808s throughout added a disturbing quality.”

The song celebrates the dying breaths of the patriarchy with its “Glass falling from the ceiling cuts sharp on its way down” lyric, as slow progress continues to be made for women’s equality.

https://www.instagram.com/onlybricksband/

Amnesia is a captivating, hypnotic and sensual love pursuit about falling for someone you feel you’ve known before. When the person desired doesn’t immediately reciprocate the same love language, it’s a patient feat of temptation to win them from an anesthesia like state. The genre is R&B/Soul with Pop elements and the mood is sensual, sultry seduction. The single is backed by a two time Billboard charting Texas based artist, Elexis Ansley, with over 86K following on her verified Instagram account. Extensive promotion is planned for the song’s release along with a killer accompanying music video. We are looking for radio stations or blogs to feature "Amnesia" on or around the release date. Below you'll find Elexis' EPK, Instagram handle, and website link. Thank you so much for your time and consideration!

Website: https://elexisansley.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elexisansley/

Lounge Love is the first single off of Introspection.lofi that will make you dig into a deeper part of your soul. Driving house beats, hard hitting bass lines, reverb filled synths & lo-fi guitars will make listeners melt into their seat while also having them dance. With influences from house music, lo-fi and artists like Ross from Friends, Kaytranada, Glue70, Folamour and more - be prepared to look into yourself almost meditatively to find things about yourself you may not have seen before.

https://www.facebook.com/sinkslow

Sink Slow creates majestic, sensual, joyous atmospheres that cause listeners to travel to places within their memories, before experiencing release on the dance floor. Pulling from a touring rock background prior to switching to production, Sink Slow adds original bass, guitar, and keys to his tracks, creating depth that allows for layers of emotion within a moment of sound.

https://www.instagram.com/sinkslow/

Rising international pop phenomenon Issam Alnajjar re-envisions his viral smash “Hadal Ahbek” with Loud Luxury and Ali Gatie as “Turning Me Up (Hadal Ahbek),” out now—listen HERE!

https://issamalnajjar.lnk.to/TurningMeUpPR

Expanding the scope of his breakthrough anthem, Issam recruited Canadian Multi-Platinum/Diamond dance music duo Loud Luxury to reimagine the track, speeding up the tempo and adding a dance-ready house beat. He also tapped Multi-Platinum Iraqi-Canadian singer and songwriter Ali Gatie to deliver an undeniable guest spot, elevating the song to a whole new level.

Of the song, Issam says, “‘Hadal Ahbek’ was a turning point in my career. Getting the chance to revisit it in English with Ali Gatie and Loud Luxury is insane.”

Andrew Fedyk and Joe De Pace of Loud Luxury chime in saying, “‘Turning Me Up’ is by far the most unique record we’ve ever worked on. It’s our first chance to take our sound and inject it with an international flair. Between working with Issam, who is halfway across the world, and Ali who happens to be from the same hometown, this song is meant to break down borders.”

Issam recently dropped the official video for his debut hit single “Hadal Ahbek,” which has already amassed over 5 million views on YouTube in just a few short weeks—watch HERE. Universal Music Group and Republic Records partnered with Founder and CEO of SALXCO and XO RECORDS, Wassim “SAL” Slaiby, and announced the launch of Universal Arabic Music (UAM) earlier this week. UAM is a newly created label dedicated to discovering, introducing and championing the artists, sounds and rich musical culture of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region to audiences around the world. UAM marked the launch by announcing Issam Alnajjar as its first artist signing.

To celebrate the release of “Turning Me Up (Hadal Ahbek),” Issam will perform on TikTok Sound Off livestream today—tune in at 3pm EST HERE.

The 17-year-old singer, songwriter, and guitarist has made history with “Hadal Ahbek,” as it is the first Arabic song to explode worldwide as a viral #1 hit. In addition to racking up over 30 million Spotify streams and 3 billion sound views on TikTok, it has climbed up numerous global charts and been added to notable playlists since its release. Upon release, the track peaked at #1 on Spotify’s US and Global Viral 50 Charts and Shazam’s Top 200 Global Chart, as well as reached #17 and #20 on Apple Music’s Global Hits and Viral Hits Playlists, respectively. The song claimed spots on Spotify’s Pop Rising, Viral Hits, Teen Beats, and RADAR playlists. On the international stage, it hit #1 on Spotify’s Viral Chart in 25 local markets, including UK, Canada, Germany, France, and Mexico, and #1 on Shazam’s Top 200 Chart in 24 local markets. In the MENA region, the track peaked at #3 on Apple Music Pop Chart in Jordan and Lebanon, #5 on Apple Music Pop Chart in Egypt, #3 on Spotify’s Saudi Arabia Daily Chart, #3 on Deezer Lebanon Chart, #7 on Deezer United Arab Emirates Chart, and #7 on Deezer Tunisia Chart. The live performance video of “Hadal Ahbek” has over 60 million views on YouTube.

“Hadal Ahbek,” which translates to “I’ll Keep Loving You” in Arabic, first became an Internet sensation after Issam posted a snippet of the track on Instagram. After finding initial success and amassing over 10 thousand followers and 12 thousand views overnight, he created a fan challenge with the song on TikTok, which set it on fire around the world. The irresistible bop has arrived as a cross-continental anthem and cements Issam Alnajjar as an international artist to watch in 2021.

ABOUT ISSAM ALNAJJAR

Issam Alnajjar is leading the way for a new generation of artists from the Middle East and North Africa to take over the global music scene. A 17-year-old musician from Amman, Jordan, he had been creating music for a couple of years, studying the songwriting of pop artists like Shawn Mendes and Ed Sheeran and admiring the creativity of iconic artists like Queen and The Weeknd, when he got some inspiration for his breakout hit “Hadal Ahbek.” After dropping a preview video for the song on Instagram, anticipation from his fans grew larger and larger. By the time he finally released “Hadal Ahbek,” with Issam’s silky voice and infectious lyrics and melody, the popularity of it exceeded his expectations. Issam says he had only expected 10k views total for his song. That was shattered in one day, and eventually it grew to 100k views a week. And on TikTok, the song only grew bigger and now currently sits atop dozens of music charts on Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer. For any artist to have a top song is an accomplishment. But what makes Issam’s feat more incredible is that he achieved this with a song sung in Arabic.

ABOUT LOUD LUXURY

With their worldwide smash hit “Body (feat. Brando),” Loud Luxury—who is Canadian duo Andrew Fedyk and Joe De Pace—is officially certified Diamond (10x Platinum) in Canada, 6x Platinum in Australia, 3x Platinum in Switzerland, Double Platinum in Austria, Denmark, U.K. and the U.S., and Platinum in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. “Body” also held the #1 spot in the U.S. Mediabase Dance Airplay chart for two weeks, charted in the Top 40 of U.S. Pop radio and the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart (#4) and accumulated over a billion plays across the most popular streaming services. Its follow-up single, “Love No More (with anders),” garnered 12 million streams on Spotify alone in its first month and currently sits at over 140 million plays on the streaming platform, while “I’m Not Alright (with Bryce Vine)” adds to the tally with over 80 million streams. In 2020, the duo released their debut EP Nights Like This followed by single releases “Like Gold” featuring Stephen Puth with Frank Walker and “Amnesia” featuring GASHI with Ship Wrek. Loud Luxury also scooped up three 2020 JUNO Awards nominations for ‘Dance Recording Of The Year,’ ‘Fan Choice Award’ and ‘Group Of The Year’ (including one win) following four nominations (including one win) in 2019 as well as iHeart Music Awards nominations for ‘Dance Song Of The Year’ and ‘Dance Artist Of The Year’ in 2020.

ABOUT ALI GATIE

Ali Gatie’s music is intimate in a way that almost feels private. The Toronto-raised artist’s pop-meets-R&B is often vulnerable, wounded, and yearning — listening is less like thumbing through his diary than stumbling upon the pages he’s ripped out and stuffed at the bottom of a drawer. Hits like double-platinum acoustic love letter “It’s You” and his new EP, The Idea of Her, demonstrate how affecting such an approach can be — he shares the contours of his emotions in hopes that listeners see themselves reflected. And his fans, The LISNERS, have connected to these songs in a way that feels profound. After blossoming his sound via bigger projects like 2020’s You, he’s now accumulated over 3 billion streams across platforms. Gatie isn’t the type to care about such numbers, but it’s evidence of the powerfully authentic bonds he’s been able to form. This year alone he’s been nominated for 3 Juno Awards. The Idea of Her is full of new leaps and underscores his unguarded approach to songwriting while emphasizing that there are new worlds out there to explore. “I want my fans to know I’m still figuring this out,” he says of his next chapter. “I might not know for five or 10 years, but this is where I feel like I sit most comfortably. You can expect the unexpected.”

ISSAM ALNAJJAR: https://www.instagram.com/issamalnajjar
LOUD LUXURY: https://www.instagram.com/loudluxury
ALI GATIE: https://www.instagram.com/aligatie/

Artist shared few words behind the inspiration of this song with Nagamag:

" The piece is named after the house that I spent many of my childhood holidays in Northumberland. It belonged to my great aunt and had loads of space around it. It was detached with a large garden and surrounded by farmers’ fields, close to the east coast railway line. The house was on a quiet road that was only populated by the odd car carrying people coming to play golf on the links course which was just down the road. It was also just a few hundred yards from a huge expanse of beautiful and largely deserted beach and the sound of the sea was in the air the whole time.

I did not necessarily realise at the time, but as a kid growing up, the quietness and the space around it provided a stark contrast to life in the city and it became a special place to experience nature, to dream, to imagine and to expand the possibilities. "

- Steve Luck
https://steveluck.bandcamp.com/

Fanfiction is a melancholy story about the phone call that was never had from a breakup that still haunts you. It starts with initially understanding why you know the relationship is over but soon spirals over all the reasons you don't understand how someone you loved could hurt you like this. The spoken word bridge is chilling and the layers of the last chorus act as all the voices in your head telling you to stay and move on as you finally breakdown and accept that there is no saving this.

https://www.instagram.com/glennellen/

Glennellen Anderson has made only two promises to herself for this life. One, she would never dye or change her natural red locks and two, she would absolutely make a name for herself in this industry. At no surprise to anyone, she has definitely kept her word.

The redhead wow'd on hit show AMERICAN IDOL, impressing the judges at only 15 years old, and was asked to return a few years later after she'd gained more experience.

At 19, Glennellen returned to the show - this time, soaring through to Hollywood week with a golden ticket in hand. After competing G went on to record and co-produce her debut album, Perspective, and landed a distribution deal with Hitman Records. It sold out its first year, having been made available with Target, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and more.

Anderson decided her next move was to take on the world. G collaborated with French/German duo Cosmow on pop single, "AFTERGLOW," and reached #4 on the Top 20 in Greece, #14 on the Greece Dance Charts and the track is now spinning on some of the biggest iHeart Radio platforms, including Jay-Z's TIDAL.

With a multitude of headlining shows at hollywoods hottest venues such as the Whiskey A Go Go and The Hotel Cafe under her belt, all eyes are on G to see what she'll acomplish next!