Each week, we feature some fresh new releases from emerging and established talent from around the world, these are highlighted on our New Music Spotlight playlist on Spotify, but we also share a handful of artists in our round-up who are making waves.
You can read more features in our Music + Culture section.
Gorillaz – Cracker Island ft. Thundercat
In a delirium of police lights and hallucinations, the BRIT and Grammy-winning virtual band Gorillaz ring in a new dawn, teaming up with Nexus Studios to create the epic psychedelic video for their summer banger Cracker Island ft. Thundercat. Directed by artist and Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett and the Emmy nominated director, Fx Goby, Cracker Island takes viewers on a late night journey into the City of Angels.
Murdoc said, “Think of it as the final scene in the movie, the bit after the grand finale when the hero (me) is about to stride into the sunset, credits rolling. That’s right, we’re starting at the end. Why? COS I WORK IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS.”
Originally based at Kong Studios in West London, the group of musical misfits – Murdoc, Noodle, Russel and 2D – have relocated to Silverlake, California as they recruit new members to join ‘The Last Cult’, in search of the one truth to fix the world.
Cracker Island features virtuosic bassist, mercurial talent and twice-Grammy winner Thundercat, with production courtesy of eight-time Grammy Award-winning producer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter extraordinaire Greg Kurstin, Gorillaz and Remi Kabaka Jr.
Geoff Gibbons – Waitin’ On a Train
Setting the tone with glistening acoustic guitar layers and percussive details, Geoff Gibbons opens his single Waiting’ On a Train with the situational lyrics, “It’s a long haul silence in the raging dark, waitin’ on a train… waitin’ on a train…”
The opus expands into an alt-country hybrid, laced with poetic nuance and thought provoking lyricism as the multi-hyphenate artist takes us on a journey of “a sleepless night…when thoughts crowd your head…you wander your mind waiting for sleep to come…to board the ride to get you to the new day.”
We appreciate Geoff Gibbons‘ brand of narrative driven storytelling, the luscious harmonies, and the authenticity with which he shares his story.
Over his career Geoff has shared stages as an opening act for legendary artists such as Emmy-Lou Harris, T-Bone Burnette, David Crosby, Levon Helm and Rick Danko to name a few. Fans of Jackson Browne, Ryan Adams and The Jayhawks will be able to connect with Geoff Gibbons‘ sound.
flowerovlove – Get With You
Rising star flowerovlove shares a new single, Get With You. Following the infectious psych-pop bliss of recent track Hannah Montana, Get With You showcases a captivating new direction in flowerovlove’s sound, a yearning and atmospheric track driven by sunlit bass guitar, playful hand claps and fast-paced drums. flowerovlove says “Get With You is a mindset of going after something you want. Needing, wanting, and urging to ‘get with it’.”
At just 17, flowerovlove is poised for superstardom, already hotly-tipped in the music & fashion world, being picked as one of i-D, tmrw, CLASH, Notion and Nylon’s ones to watch for 2022 and seeing her as the cover star on a recent issue of Blanc Magazine. Combining an affinity for nature with sunny, soothing melodies and introspective lyrics, the South Londoner released her debut EP Think Flower‘ last year to wide acclaim.
Inspired by artists such as Tame Impala, flowerovlove is a genius when it comes to combining her passions for music, nature and fashion into a flourishing whole, showcasing a wisdom and talent well beyond her years. She uses the symbol of a flower to depict the beauty of evolution and captivate listeners’ hearts, take over their headphones, and draw attention to sustainability and preserving the earth around us. She embraces self-love and growth, describing her music as “nostalgic, versatile, mellow, warm, and the feeling of home.”
Rogue FX – Retrobution
Establishing the mood with pitched down vocal add libs, celestial detailing and a luscious synthscape, we are already immersed by Rogue FX‘s single, Retrobution.
A series of claps, intricate keys and percussion dimensionalize the track as it expands into a divergent and playful opus taking on a high octane energy with cerebral elements that are out of this world.
We appreciate the attention to detail and the hyperpop adjacent soundscape with elements of retro combined with futurism, and we learn that Rogue FX is Andrew Wood from North East England, who was part of the late 80s synth pop group Please and the house music outfit Bass Value from the early 90s.
His experience is tangible and comes to life in Retrobution though the cohesive nature of the complexed tapestry and sonic landscape. We have added Retrobution to our New Music Spotlight playlist.
Dave Mohan – Arioso In Red
We recently featured Dave Mohan for the (Re-Vox Version) of his single, Time and Tides, so we were thrilled to hear that he had just released the brand new, Arioso In Red.
Opening with rippling keys and immersive strings with bass notes and the lyrics, “Can you recall the way that song began? The light refrain, the playful rhymes…”, Arioso In Red expands into a love song which takes as its inspiration Bach’s romantic Arioso (BWV 156).
We learn that the opus was recorded with a number of international musicians including Carolina de la Muela (Argentina) on lead vocals and sensitively mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Simon Gibson.
The song starts out as a catchy, dynamic up-tempo foot tapper and transforms during its course into a romantic orchestrated crossover item. We appreciate the familiar melodies and the depth of the lyricism which really brings to life the romantic energy of the piece.
Beyoncé – RENAISSANCE
It has been six years since the last Beyoncé solo release. Her long anticipated seventh RENAISSANCE has just arrived and in the words of the icon herself to Harper’s Bazaar in 2021, “With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love and laugh again. I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible.”