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.
Miley Cyrus – Flowers
Superstar Miley Cyrus asserts her independence on new single Flowers, as she starts the year with some much needed self-love. The opus is the lead from her upcoming album, Endless Summer Vacation.
The Jacob Bixenman directed video sees Miley walking over a bridge as she sings about the end of a breakup, “I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, talk to myself for hours… I can take myself dancing, yeah, I can hold my own hand, yeah, I can love me better than you can…”
Miley then walk into a backyard in a bikini before taking a dive in the pool and posing, we also see her performing acts of self care including doing workouts, yoga, and taking a hot shower. We appreciate the message and the accompanying visuals where we see Miley in her home town, empowered by her reality.
Vagabon – Carpenter
Vagabon, the moniker of Lætitia Tamko, has released the brand new single, Carpenter. The track which was co-produced by Tamko and Rostam (Vampire Weekend, Haim, Clairo, Maggie Rogers), is her first newly created solo music since her 2019 critically acclaimed self-titled album, which was critically lauded and received widespread international press coverage.
“Carpenter is about that humbling feeling when you desperately want to be knowledgeable, you want to be advanced, you want to be mature, forward thinking, and evolved,” Vagabon explains. “It’s about being confronted with your limitations. It’s about that A-HA moment, when a lesson from the past finally clicks and you want to run and tell someone who bore witness to the old you, ‘i finally get it now.’” Vagabon is currently working on a new album, to be released later in 2023; details will be announced soon.
vnxa – r.i.p.
Drawing us in with an industrial texture and syncopated percussion with a cerebral energy, vnxa opens r.i.p. with atmospheric, glitches vocals as she shares her subversive perspective.
vnxa chants “Déjame descansar en paz“, which is Spanish for “Let me rest in peace” throughout the chorus and tells us, “The ancestors have been woken up, and they’re pissed. Even after death, their legacy remains a target for exploitation, the ground in which they are buried a site for greed and destruction, and justice has seldom been served. However, the ancestors will have the last laugh on judgment day. Until then, let them rest in peace.”
We appreciate the authentic and anti-colonial message of the song, as the New York artist evokes a sense of freedom from bondage with her words and the co-production of Gut Nose. We learn that vnxa is influenced by raw emotional states, catchy hooks, and a grittiness that makes the music feel tangible, which really comes through in her artistry.
BIAS – Amsterdam
Setting the tone with a luscious, rising synthscape and pulsating beat, BIAS opens Amsterdam with a unique sense of dimensionality. A brief reverse sound, which is actually a cinematic reference, opens the opus up as BIAS delivers emotive prose in Italian.
We learn that the opus is inspired by the iconic film, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind directed by Michel Gondry, the soundtrack of which was written by composer Jon Brion. Amsterdam serves as a reworking of the song Phone Call from the film.
Speaking on the intricacy of the release, BIAS tells us, “Strings give way to synthesisers, punctuated by the rhythm of the famous Roland TR-808 drum machine.”
We appreciate the authentic and personal depth that BIAS shares with his prose, and a lyrical highlight includes the self-referential and empowering, “When it all goes to shit, I still have myself to count on…”
Nieri – In Our Eyes (foreverandever<3 Remix)
Immersing us with looped guitar melody and textured percussion, Nieri opens the foreverandever<3 Remix of In Our Eyes with charm, intrigue, atmospheric vocals and poetic prowess.
We are immediately hypnotized by the dimensional nature of the production, and the trip that Nieri takes us on with his wisdom and depth. The pitched vocal segment has an almost transcendental feel, adding a dynamic element to the already exquisite sound that the creators have generated.
We learn that foreverandever<3 is the side project of producer Joakim Buddee, who is behind Nieri’s debut EP as well as artists Olivia Lobato, Lasse Matthiessen and Isle Of You. The finale of the opus is out of this world with a cerebral drop, showcasing intricate production design and ethereal vocal threads. We are in awe and have added the song to our New Music Spotlight playlist!