Stream: Ultimatum - Christina CF

Christina CF is an Oakville, Ontario based musician and Ultimatum is her first public release, and is suitably packed full of vulnerability.

Ultimatum was created entirely by Christina - written, played, recorded, mixed and mastered - and it represents an impressively sophisticated sounding piece of pop music.

There is a certain courage here, both in Christina’s determination and self-motivation, and in the lyrics of the song itself. As she pleads her love to give her an ultimatum, you can sense her desire to be heard - not just by the song’s subject, but also by you as the listener. This is the sound of just telling someone you want them and only them - the purity of expressing what the heart wants.

Describing the track, Christina CF says:

“Music is such a powerful way of connecting with others," says Christina. "I just want to make sure people feel things with the songs I create – whether it be a song I write for myself or another artist. I hope the public vibes with "Ultimatum" the same way friends and family have.”

Check out Ultimatum below.

A solo artist from Oakville, Ontario, Christina CF takes warm, genuine emotion and translates it into a home-brewed mixture of catchy, layered harmonies and cutesy beats. The track "Ultimatum" is Christina CF's first time putting herself on the line for the world to see–a bravery that reflects in her technical skills and in her musical vision for the future. “Music is such a powerful way of connecting with others”, says Christina. "I just want to make people feel things with the songs I create - whether it be a song I write for myself or another artist. I hope the public vibes with "Ultimatum" the same way friends and family have.”

Stream: Last Night - Hoodlem

Last Night is a pop record positively brimming with lush sophisticated soul.

Created by Toronto-via-Melbourne R&B musician Hoodlem, Last Night is full of woozy rhythms, stabs of brass and glitchy IDM sounds. The track seemingly gets carried away with itself - a record about being in love with being in love, it sounds like those times where nothing can pull your mind out of a daydream.

The song is dedicated to those days when the spirit of last night lingers within you - your head and heart still right there with whoever you shared your night with. The possibilities in those moments can be overwhelming - the sense that seemingly anything is possible.

Describing the song Hoodlem says:

"Last Night is the afterward of a night with someone you’re into and you can’t stop thinking about that person, you replay it all over in your head and it drives you a little crazy. I think that 'not knowing where you stand with someone' feeling is kind of stressful but also fuels this half excited anxiety and that’s the feeling I was going through when I wrote this."

Check out Last Night below and look out for Hoodlem’s forthcoming Teenager EP, set for release this summer.

Video: Disco - Weirdo

I don’t know much about Weirdo, but this crazy infectious little ditty has me all excited on this Friday morning.

There is a crazy calypso buoyancy to Disco. It is a track that feels lost in feelings of affection for someone - a series of details specifically noticed by one person that could easily be missed by everyone else: “I like the perfume you’ve been wearing / probs ‘cause I purchased it / I like your eyes when they’re blinking / don’t go changing this”.

Also this video is utterly charming. I have no idea from which Disney cartoon the visuals come, but they really fit the song wonderfully. I hope it exists forever. I want to spend my time wearing a grass skirt in love on a cartoon desert island.

Stream: New Religion - Anna Wang

There’s an ambiance here on New Religion that feels stark like cracked earth baked in the midday sun… Wang’s vocals echo, almost like she is entirely alone in her environment. Perhaps this reflects the alienation and loneliness of the romantic obsession New Religion portrays. At times the vocals become twisted and distorted, like they are being submerged and buried down beneath the surface.

In contrast the production work here is simple and restrained - the foil to the emotional excess Wang delivers. Those modest electronic sounds simmer gently whilst Anna boils completely dry. New Religion’s vulnerability is a little intimidating, but all the more thrilling as a result.

Check out New Religion by Anna Wang below:

Stream: You Were Right - Metropoly

Channelling 80s pop and 90s R&B and 2000s electronic, Metropoly create the kind of spectral melodies that will be familiar to fans of Junior Boys.

Over a bowl of noodles in New York’s Chinatown, duo Julian and Ben realised their relative strengths could enable them to naturally compliment each other musically. Julian’s focus on songwriting and his classical training compliments Ben’s focus on DJing - the result is music that combines sophisticated musical progression and harmony with texture and sophisticated production techniques.

Released this coming Friday as a two-track single with No More, You Were Right is a piece of elegant and minimal electronic soul. Percussive clicks and kicks underpin Julian’s wistful vocals as the electronic melodies and bass lines create a beautifully human take on electronic music. Layered synthesisers and arpeggios form a dense yet restrained record.

Check out You Were Right below. Metropoly are currently in the studio collaborating with female vocalist Renélin on a follow-up single.