One of the consequences of relocation from the Southern to the Northern hemisphere, followed by the onset of widespread lockdown and restriction of travel, has been ongoing deep solitary introspection and self reflection, and an in-depth communion with God & nature and the search for Spiritual comfort.

This journey has resulted, for singer songwriter Maryen Cairns, in the creation of this downtempo stirring ballad that is “Spirit”, especially in this stripped back piano based “Alt-Mix” version, which is being released first as a single.

Recorded entirely by herself with piano, acoustic guitar & strings, Maryen then sent Spirit to her producer and mentor Chris Kimsey across the channel in London, where he added his magic touches and co-mixed.

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Barstool Astronaut is instrumental music fueled with experimentation and built for space travel drawing from influences such as Four Tet, Little People, Bonobo, The Flashbulb, and many more.

Denver, Coloardo based producer Mike Larson Schneider started Barstool Astronaut after years of touring and session work as a drummer. Feeling a creative limitation behind the kit in bands (and with the schematics of the music industry in general), he picked back up his first instrument – piano – and started making instrumental electronic music with borrowed software and semi-blind ambition. After a few years creating music with no artistic limitations in mind, Schneider has carved out his own sound from the electronic-leaning genres of IDM, ambient, and instrumental hip-hop, often blending them with a layer of acoustic instruments, inspired by post-rock dynamics and composition.

https://www.instagram.com/barstoolastronaut/

M.Byrd’s story starts somewhere between Amsterdam and Paris. Whilst being the tour bassist for Ilgen-Nur, M.Byrd showed the rest of the band his own demos and their reaction was what gave him the final push to focus on his solo career. Fast-forward to the end of the tour and just one single-release later the 25 year-old artist now has more than 1.5 million Spotify streams under his belt. M.Byrd swiftly forged his own path in the industry with his infectious indie neo-psych-folk sound.

The upcoming single “Morning Sun” is indeed all about an acoustic sound scape, which, however, conveys no less depth than the powerful guitar sounds of “Mountain”. The warm entry symbolizes the rising of the morning sun and at the same time lets listeners wake up in the fog.

M. Byrd himself describes the process as follows:

“Morning Sun has become a kind of morning mantra for me. The idea came to me a few years ago in the morning right after I got up and it came back to me subsequently over and over again, like a kind of entry into meditation, until I finally recorded it and arranged it into form.”

Marcel Izequierdo Torres, who also directed the first music video of the artist, takes the night as a visual guideline and in an almost mystical atmosphere features the self-confident dancer Rose Marie Lindstrøm with her own choreography.Alternating between floating and rhythmic movements, the young dancer interprets the song as a ritual awakening after an aimless search in the fog, as the desire for the redeeming breath under water.

M.Byrd’s timeless songs shine with a feeling of strength and self-understanding that can be rarely found at the beginning of a young musicians’s career – they transport the listener to the American west coast, emitting a sense of melancholic future and euphoric youth, urging them to trust their intuition and find their inner-self. “I spent many years soaking up personal and musical experiences and I’ve been learning a lot in different studios and touring situations. The music I make is thus inspired by being on the road, moving on and allowing growth to happen. I realized that the experiences on my path might also inspire other people and I hope that this will continue in the future with the songs we release.”

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Hearts are broken across the globe on a daily basis, however, not all is always lost. The Finnish-born Sam Shaky treads the line between dark, ethereal Pop and Alternative Rock.

Sam’s music circulates around themes of inner struggle and difficulties in love. While being abstract by design, his music echoes a relatability to common folk, with depth of emotion, big imagination and real stories. But instead of forcing meanings upon his listeners, he invites people to extrapolate colours and emotions from his dark but hopeful, ethereal sound.

Debut single ‘Tomorrow’, made its way to 5th place on Spotify Finland Viral 50. His follow-up single ‘Don’t Let Go’ reached 4th place on the same chart and receiving a feature on the highly regarded ‘Fresh Finds: Six Strings’ playlist on Spotify.

Sam’s forthcoming album, ‘Arctic Americana’ is a continuation of his story up until now. ‘Don’t Play With The Devil’ is the first single release off the album; featuring Steve Wilmot (OneRepublic, Switchfoot) on production, Dom Morley (Amy Winehouse, Nick Cave, Mark Ronson) on analog synths and legendary Derek Sherinian (Dream Theatre, Billy Idol, Alice Cooper, Kiss) on keys.

Sam Shaky is for anyone seeking the rough and the experimental, it’s for lovers of Pop to Rock and Alternative, it’s for those looking for sincerity. Above all, it’s for those craving an experience that far surpasses the hollow, cookie-cutter world.

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LA based electronic duo OYLS are releasing the music video for their song “Netflix (Your Product Is Too Good)” directed by Nicole Lipp. Both the third single off their most recent album OYLS (For Your Consideration), as well as the third episode in a series of seamless videos dubbed as a visual ‘Pop Opera,’ the video stars legendary actor and Los Angeles local Danny Trejo (Machete, Spy Kids) in a very humanizing role: a lost soul binging Netflix late at night in a motel – with snacks, naturally.

With the hopes to destigmatize mental illness, the band shares, “The song is really about how we cope with our negative feelings, whether they stem from the stress of our daily lives, mental illness, or uncertainty about the world.” OYLS explains, “To have someone of Danny’s stature willing to portray a vulnerable character struggling with his own mind is invaluable to normalizing our conversations about mental health. It really is a huge honor to have him involved.”

“Netflix (Your Product Is Too Good)” takes a minimalistic stance sonically, crafted with an array of electronic warmth. With pulsing, throbbing synths, punctual pronunciation, rich in character and snappy tones softened by the echoing flares, the catchy hook and lyrics are dusted in a lighthearted gleam while holding a colder, more relatable theme. The song has moments of robotic, electro style harmonies adding a haunting effect and samples that add a witty sound but a harsh message, replicating that inner voice we all know.

Reflecting the addiction to the easily supplied, numb living of the modern world, the video shows Danny Trejo unknowingly glued to his screen with an endless supply of munchies, binging his life away. OYLS share, “We explore some of the conflicted relationships we have with pervasive technology and late-stage capitalism. Unlimited content at our fingertips is both a remarkable tool and a powerfully addictive escape.”

Prior to the release of OYLS (For Your Consideration), the duo sold space on their album cover for anyone to purchase, with proceeds going to MusiCares, a non-profit that assists musicians struggling with mental illness. Proceeds from this music video will also go to MusiCares and they have made it possible to donate directly to the cause through their Spotify page.

“We hope to impact the discourse surrounding mental illness. It’s such a stigmatized topic but so many sufler on a daily basis that it really shouldn’t be. Hopefully we can help make that change.”

“Netflix (Your Product Is Too Good)” will be followed by five more episodes slated for later this year, released via Handwritten Records.

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Artist shared few words behind his inspiration on this song:

” The arrangement for the song is based on an arguing couple I passed on the street while riding my bike in the first month of the pandemiic; the trumpet is the woman’s voice and the trombone is the man’s. In the context of the unfolding catastrophe, even their fighting sounded beautiful because it was human and since it felt like everything was slipping away from us, I wanted to record every bit of humanity that I could before it disappeared, taking snapshots in my mind of these beautiful people on the streets.

At the same time as these daily bike rides, I started painting portraits to get by, since my furloughed pay wasn’t enough to pay the bills. This daily process of portrait painting also echoed that feeling of wanting to record some last impressions of humankind before it faded away. ” – Jon Campbell

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This is the 9th track of our recent album “Hadal Zone”. The album has a 10 track story-based structure. In this song artist shares the cultural blending that comes from being a citizen in Istanbul.

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Formed in 2013, Geeva Flava have been making music by blending jazz, rock, folk music and progressive genres with their unique style. The band first came to light with the album that carries the same name as the band in 2016, now continuing their work with active members, Aybars Gülümser, Burak Erensoy, Arda Semercioğlu and Atakan Türkan. In 2017, Geeva Flava, released Dereboyu and Humble Jungle songs as a part of the live session project “Sürmekan” that tells the story of the places with music. The band continued its experimental journey with two EP’s titled “Botanic #1” and “Kinetic #2”, which they released in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, they released the video clip of their song Tavşantepe Metro, and in 2020, they released their single “Telve”, in which they added electronic elements to their musical spectrum. In the same year, after the pandemic, they concentrated on their work and completed the new album, Hadal Zone. Geeva Flava, searching for alternative ways to tell stories, also included a comic book in the project which will be released with the album. The band still continues to work for their new EP project.

Geeva Flava also took the stage in many festivals such as PSM Jazz Festival, IKSV Jazz Festival, Parklarda Caz, METU Alternative Music Festival, Offtown Festival, Bilgi New Music Festival; performed in stages such as Zorlu PSM Touché, Salon IKSV, Arkaoda, Dam, Peyote, Bronx Pi, Mask, Fenerbahçe Parkı.

https://www.geevaflava.com/en/ana-sayfa/ana-sayfa-english/

LoveLeo returns with a new hyperpop bop titled “BUZZCUT” feat. blackwinterwells, out now via Godmode/Republic Records—listen HERE.

https://loveleo.lnk.to/BUZZCUTPR

It’s the kind of radical style shift and reinvention we’ve come to expect from LoveLeo – a sly, sardonic look at the way our realities and appearances are increasingly blurring.

“Like many people, I often find myself doing things on social media strictly for the purpose of doing things on social media,” explains LoveLeo. “When you step away from it all, you start to wonder what toll it’s taking on your happiness and who actually benefits from the ‘likes’. That’s what ‘BUZZCUT’ is about. Also I shaved my head so there’s that too.”

LoveLeo also directed the official music video – an absurdist, existential take on “Youtube makeup tutorial” style content, complete with his iconic aux cord earrings, rainbow nails, new buzzcut, and a special performance from the artist blackwinterwells, the architect of the nascent hyperpop movement. Watch HERE.

https://youtu.be/Xvmk7o3ipKY

Additionally, this month LoveLeo stars in the new Yves Saint Laurent campaign, in a short film directed by Jim Jarmusch called “French Water”. The film co-stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Indya Moore, Julianne Moore, and Chloë Sevigny. Watch HERE.

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Last year, LoveLeo introduced himself as one to watch with his debut EP, LOOK AT THIS MESS I’VE MADE. Beyond praise from PAPER, Dazed, L’Officiel and more, HYPEBAE raved, “LOOK AT THIS MESS I’VE MADE is one of the summer’s best,” while Ones To Watch proclaimed, “LOOK AT THIS MESS I’VE MADE revels in the creative process, finding a sense of devious delight and rapture in these sonic diamonds in the rough.” Most recently, VMAN dove into his “surrealistic synth pop world” and admitted, “It’s the sound of someone teeming with ideas, unabashedly playing with sounds and giving plenty of room for exploration.” However, it only sets the stage for much more to come from LoveLeo this year.

LoveLeo has amassed nearly 100 million streams in less than a year and incited widespread critical acclaim. His 2019 breakthrough hit, “BOYFREN,” has garnered nearly 54 million Spotify streams and 12 million views on the music video after capturing the top spot on Spotify’s US Viral 50 and Global Viral 50 Charts. He landed on the 2020 Dazed 100 list for his musical and fashion sensibilities, while his EP, LOOK AT THIS MESS I’VE MADE, and additional singles, “ROSIE,” “LEMONS” and “HEAD OVER HEELS,” opened up his world.

ABOUT LOVELEO

When he was a kid, Leo Reilly, who now records as LoveLeo, got excited when one of his friends made a “really bad” rap song. He’d recorded it directly into the SoundCloud app, which Reilly wasn’t even aware you could do, then shared it out to all of his friends, at which point it took his school by storm. After experimenting for a few years and decamping to San Francisco to study fashion, Leo finally landed on an upbeat sound that allowed him to find inspiration in music he loved, no matter where or when it came from. Later, back at his parents’ house at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, he put together his breakout single “BOYFREN” in his childhood bedroom while his mom and dad were making chicken parm for dinner. After its release at the end of 2019, “BOYFREN” went viral and paved the way for 2020 singles “ROSIE” and “LEMONS.” On his debut eight track EP, LOOK AT THIS MESS I’VE MADE, Reilly taps into a rich wellspring of personal moments of growth, filtered through his unique sense of humor. The EP, its singles and their kinetic and innovative videos, all of which Reilly co-directed, paint a portrait of a rising artist on the cusp of something big. As LoveLeo, Reilly has landed on a sound that is playful and probing, the result of an urge to create music that is not so much reliant on genre as it is a reflection of the 21-year-old’s idiosyncratic viewpoint and style. His songs are deceptively simple earworms that probe big ideas with a light touch, but Reilly never pushes listeners toward a revelation. Instead, he offers up a wonky, sometimes-cartoonish world of slick players and devious villains who’re posturing and fumbling through love and life, just like the rest of us.

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Iconic songwriter, producer and business owner, Diane Arkenstone’s new instrumental single “Safe in the Angel’s Wing.” For three decades Arkenstone has been a pioneering multi-instrumentalist in the New Age genre having released a number of hugely popular albums on her own record label, Neo Pacifica since the early 90’s. She’s best known for her soulfully meditative and heartfelt instrumental recordings that have garnered millions of streams on platforms such as Amazon Music. The new album and music releasing this year continue this focus on instrumental recordings, with this new music meant to help people heal and relax.

For every project Arkenstone sets her mind to, there’s a truly sincere inspiration and with The Healing Heart, it’s a document of her journey as a heart surgery patient having endured operation after operation. Through it all she’s kept her focus on maintaining an optimistic outlook living her life based on the wellness principles she’s practiced her entire life, and that are truly reflected in her music. The term New Age is almost obsolete now, and Diane prefers to just follow her sincere artistic impulses which inevitably are centered on nurturing a sense of health and well-being.

Listen and watch the video to her new single “Safe In The Angel’s Wing” here: https://youtu.be/mP272mu57h0

The gorgeously impressionistic video is by Haley Monson—a frequent collaborator.

Says Arkenstone: “‘Safe in the Angel’s Wing’ was written after recovery from a 3rd pacemaker implant that did not go well. Minutes after the pacemaker was in, I went into cardiac arrest when one of the ventricles in the heart was not getting paced. The doctors rushed me back into the OR for more surgery, and although I was unconscious, I felt I was awake and being protected in an Angel’s Wing during the procedure. The image has stayed with me and is the inspiration for this song.”

Says Monson about the inspiration for the video: “Diane’s song led me to a thoughtful and meditative space, something that evoked the play of childhood and the mystery of the forest. By exploring pieces of the outdoors under the microscope, I was able to create a guided exploration into a world highlighted with ethereal charcoal accents. I collected moss, mushrooms, bark, stones, gems, acorns, etc. from a park I frequented in my childhood youth. I hope to create a tiny world of play and magic.

Diane’s song led me to a thoughtful and meditative space, something that evoked the play of childhood and the mystery of the forest. By exploring pieces of the outdoors under the microscope, I was able to create a guided exploration into a world highlighted with ethereal charcoal accents. I collected moss, mushrooms, bark, stones, gems, acorns, etc. from a park I frequented in my childhood youth. I hope to create a tiny world of play and magic.”

ABOUT DIANE ARKENSTONE

For well over 20 years, musician Diane Arkenstone has gained worldwide acclaim with her extensive repertoire of distinctive instrumental recordings which garnered much success within the ambient, health and wellness circles. Arkenstone has incredible success with Neo Pacifica, the independent label she launched in the late 90’s. Yet at heart, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist–who recalls penning her first song at age three, four years before she first picked up an acoustic guitar—has always been a soulful storyteller, passionate and artful at weaving emotions through a perfect blend of graceful melodies and poetic words.

Arkenstone’s ongoing flow of songwriting energy also stems in part from a wealth of unique life experiences, including everything from the joys and heartbreaks of love to a lifetime of hardship and survival due to various medical ailments related to the complete AV block in her heart. Having recently had open heart surgery and the installation of her sixth pacemaker, and enduring 34 surgeries for heart, lung and kidneys starting in her early childhood, she is very much in tune with the sacredness of life; in 2004, she was an official spokesperson for the American Heart Association. One of the reasons Arkenstone took up guitar as a child was the fact that she could hold it close to her chest and feel the healing vibration of the strings and the wood against her body. While she trained as an opera singer and started singing in local clubs around Central California when she was 16, she ultimately chose modern instrumentals as a musical pathway because it was so “beautiful and healing for me.”

Arkenstone’s success in that genre and the related realms of Celtic, global and Native American music is unparalleled, both as a recording artist and label/owner entrepreneur. Having seen the difficulties her then-husband and frequent musical partner David Arkenstone was having being treated and compensated fairly by the labels he had signed with, Diane—without any formal business training—launched Neo Pacifica Recordings and her publishing company Mulamu Music, with the simple goal of releasing their own music.

She has never let the lines of genre stop her from exploring the depths of music and where it can take her.

For more information, visit:

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Leading independent UK label Perfect Havoc welcomes back Norwegian veteran DJ and producer Simon Field with his new single ‘Don’t Wanna Go’ out 16th April. Following up on ‘So Cold’ with Adam Griffin and Clare Sophia released earlier this year, this latest single is the perfect ‘dream yourself back to the dancefloor’ track with emotive vocals and stunning synth work synonymous in all Field’s deep house productions. With over 80 million streams globally and as a Spotify curator with more than 400K fans following his Ibiza Deep House playlist, Simon Field bounces out of lockdown with an abundance of creativity in this latest outing.

Stream it now via all platforms: https://perfecthavoc.lnk.to/dontwannago

An awarded producer and songwriter, Field has a distinct sound produced entirely through analogue gear from his studio in Oslo. His highlight collabs and releases on Perfect Havoc include ‘Is It Real?’ with Tobtok & Oliver Nelson feat. Salena Mastronnani (6 million streams) and ‘Shake The Tree’ (14 million streams), while his official remixes include such high profile names as Nina Simone and Kelis.

Champions of Field’s sound span DJ A-listers Tiësto, Hardwell, Lost Frequencies, David Guetta, Ridney and Benny Benassi, and tastemakers on the airwaves where he receives regular spins on BBC Radio 1 and Kiss FM from Scott Mills, Majestic, Joel Corry, and Mistajam, as well as in his homeland in Norway on Kiss and NRJ.

From the clubs to the TV and the Big Screen, Field’s music has been featured in US TV series, Californication and Ugly Betty, in the Academy Award nominated film, Passengers, and in the latest Netflix series Elite, which saw the track chart on Shazam and iTunes and in multiple countries including Spain, Mexico, Germany and many more.

Field is onto another winner with this latest single. ‘Don’t Wanna Go’ kicks off with a melancholic vocal as the male voice sings about not wanting to be alone, yet there’s an overtone of optimism as melodic synths and rolling drums push the track onwards to a place of euphoria. It’s hard to predict what dancefloors will sound like when clubs open up again in hot spots like Ibiza and LA, but with the clean production of Field at work on this release and its feeling of hopefulness, expect this to be soundtracking many a dancefloor, soon.

On the inspiration behind the track, Simon Field said, “Don’t Wanna Go expresses the dark emotion of loneliness that you get following an encounter of happiness or from departing with someone that matters in your life. It’s about that feeling of not wanting to let go of someone and yearning for them to stay another night.”

‘Don’t Wanna Go’ is another strong addition to the Perfect Havoc catalogue from its roster that also includes the double platinum selling Swedish producer Tobtok, Mahalo, Karen Harding, Kokiri and Parx. The label and management agency has a fast-rising status underlined by earning five UK Top 10s and platinum certified records, including Joel Corry & MNEK ‘Head & Heart’ (No.1), Joel Corry, RAYE and David Guetta ‘Bed’ (No.6) and a top 20 hit with PS1 ft Alex Hosking ‘Fake Friends’ (No.19). With an acute ear for both underground and mainstream hits, Perfect Havoc has licensed cool house cuts to Toolroom Records and Kitsune, and to majors including Atlantic and Columbia. The future is very bright for this forward thinking label.

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