Video: The Shadow - Millie Turner

A song about introspection and giving a voice to your internal thoughts, The Shadow started as a drawing before morphing into this - an 80s influenced pop record with a big synth hook… A little like I Feel Love played by a female-fronted Duran Duran.

Having sat down to draw with no particular inspiration, Turner began to create a narrative as the pencil marked the paper:

“It’s a story of a girl who decides to go on this journey by herself and starts walking. There’s an image of her walking with her shadow, reflecting on the internal empowerment and acceptance of her inner-creativity.”

Only her third song, The Shadow betrays a level of confidence many struggle to achieve with considerable larger catalogues.

Stream: Could You Stay - Malena Zavala

Following on from two singles last year (previous blog favourite Should I Try and If It Goes), Argentine-born, London-raised musician Malena Zavala has just announced her forthcoming debut album Aliso. To tease the album ahead of its 13 April release Zavala has put out Could You Stay.

Zavala initially formed a band with her older brother and they played together for five years before he ultimately left to pursue a life in California. As a strong influence on Malena, his departure proved difficult for her and yet ultimately provided the push she needed to branch out and make her own music. Based in a house in Aliso Viejo, California, Zavala managed to write her debut album in two weeks before going on to record, produce and mix it all together with Gareth Jones in the space of six months.

With inspiration drawn from Beach House and Tame Impala there is a floating-on-a-dream feeling to Could You Stay. It’s a little bit Latin, a little bit stoned soul. On the basis of this song I can’t wait to hear the album.

Stream: Notice Me - Mija

Notice Me is the new track from LA producer Mija, and comes ahead of her debut EP How To Measure The Distance Between Lovers, set for release on 9 February.

Having worked her way into the industry by working with Skrillex and DJing at TomorrowWorld, Mija has been labelled as an EDM producer. She claims inspiration from Björk along with Nicolas Jaar, Imogen Heap and Chopin (always Chopin). Those more varied sounds make their presence felt here on Notice Me, a track that features her vocals for the first time.

Notice Me is a gentle, lilting ballad featuring a complex layered feel as Mija’s vocals carefully pick their way through the song to convey her feelings.

Check out Notice Me below and look out for How To Measure The Distance Between Lovers on 9 February.

Video: Believe Me - Lilla Vargen

This one gives me goosebumps. Maybe don’t focus on these words and instead just let the music do the talking.

Believe Me is the latest single from Northern Irish musician Lilla Vargen, and it follows her debut EP Hold On, which features a cover of Majical Cloudz’s staggeringly beautiful Downtown (seriously, that track is like falling in love).

This new track features a beautiful vocal performance and delivery I can’t resist. It’s an honest portrayal of discovering mutual love in someone, and the attempts to convey and convince that person of how you feel and that you will be there for them. Describing the track Lilla says:

“It was inspired by a friendship that was quite complicated. I let that person down before and I was determined not to do it again. The only way I could explain myself, to let them know I was ready to let my guard down, was to put my words down on paper, and post the letter.”

Enough words from me. Just listen, then go and check out Lilla’s cover version of Downtown. You can see Lilla live on the following dates (more to be announced):

• Feb 01: Kings Head Members Club, London (Mahogany Horizons)
• Feb 08: Output, Belfast
• Feb 09: Wehre’s The Music, Sweden

Premiere: Suydam - Pikoe

Pikoe is the electronic R&B project of Rafael Sanchez - initiated following success leading folk acts Hunting Stories and Cowpoke.

Pikoe came into existing in 2016 when Sanchez began writing songs solo material under the moniker. Following a breakup and a series of mental and physical illness, including a melanoma scare, Sanchez started recording with friend and longtime collaborator Patrick Taylor. The first EP, titled Songs To Dance Alone To, was initially released on SoundCloud as a collection of unmixed tracks. However following the overwhelmingly positive reactions to the release Sanchez created a band around the project - pulling in his brother and collaborator Jose, Berklee College of Music alum Ben Marino of drums (known for working with Blood Orange) and Michael Summer on saxophone.

Suydam is the second single to be released from Pikoe's EP, following on from the infectious lead single Fall-N-Out. The track is inspired by a break-up and is named after a street in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where it happened. It is a darker, more resigned track than Fall-N-Out, Sanchez’s vocals pleading “I know, I know the future; rips back, rips back the suture”. The music is wound similarly tight, gradually applying layers of distortion, percussion and bass to create a foreboding sense of dread. When Sanchez delivers the line “I should let you know... I’ve been thinking about love” it almost sounds like a threat. The result of that most terrifying and destructive of emotions that can tear us apart as much as it brings us together.

The official version of Songs To Dance Alone To is set for release on 2 March through CEN/The Orchard. Check out Suydam below or head straight to Spotify or iTunes.