Stream: Glowing - Bora York

Glowing is the latest song from Minneapolis husband-and-wife duo Bora York, and their first song in three years.

A song about unconditional love, Glowing captures that feeling of being so in love with someone that nothing else matters. As songwriter Chris Bartels describes it:

“It’s about being so in love with someone that it doesn't matter what they look like at any given time, or what their mood is, or anything really—this type of love goes way beyond feelings. No matter what, this person is always glowing to you.”

Glowing is the kind of joyful sounding sunbeam of a record I just can’t really resist. Full of tight layered percussion and jubilant melodies, this is the sound of bouncing down the street with your head full of someone who warms your heart up and makes you smile involuntarily.

Whilst the band have been busy growing their family together and writing music for side projects, they have always been working on the next phase of Bora York. Expect more to come in the wake of Glowing.

Stream: Be Real - Rasmus Faber & Metaxas

A slow by disco joint, Be Real is the first collaboration between Swedish musician Rasmus Faber and Greek singer-songwriter Metaxas.

Be Real is a warm sun kissed groove combined that features a vulnerable falsetto vocal about the importance of being genuine and vulnerable in a relationship. There is a beautiful reassuring feel to this song - like someone peeling back the layers and being true with what they feel.

Check out Be Real below for sunny disco feels:

Video: Chemistry - Helen

Helen is a singer-songwriter hailing from Romania’s Bucharest who has already established her name in her home country as a writer for both domestic and international artists and is now showcasing her identity as a solo artist.

On new single Chemistry, Helen has created a perfect pop record that channels the same retro-futurist pop known we expect from the likes of Robyn and La Roux. This is one of those records that just flows beautifully - robotic bass, oscillating wave-like synth patterns and Helen’s cool, understated vocal. The layers here create something that sounds simple and is yet packed with detail.

Talking about her experience making music for herself, Helen says:

"Although I started writing music for other artists at the age of 14, I had to constantly deal with the media clichés telling me I couldn’t make it, because I didn’t have the so called pop image and body and that I should only stick to songwriting.That triggered a lot of anxiety during those years and even depression at some point because I constantly felt that I have to change who I am in order to be an artist and for my music to be appreciated. I almost gave up on the idea of having my own project, but the music kept coming, as a reminder that you can’t shut down something that’s part of you and needs to manifest. So I decided that in order to try and become something that I’m not, I should raise awareness and a voice in a post communist society, still learning to deal with diversity, acceptance and difference.”

Check out the video for Chemistry below and the SoundCloud player further down:

Stream: Santa Barbara - The Millennial Club

The Millennial Club are a southern-Californian based dream pop outfit who aim to blend 80s pop with 90s R&B to create a romance-inspired sound that feels inherently Californian.

Santa Barbara is The Millennial Club’s first single of 2018 and it is the aural equivalent of a swoon: a sharp exhale of breath when it feels like your heart can’t keep stay inside any more and all your insides might come out.

The track captures the feel of California coastline drives with a close friend - the melodies all so soft and the vocals breathless and pouring out in quick succession. Santa Barbara has the feeling of what might happen when someone has finally uncorked the bottle on how they feel. Able to articulate their feelings for someone for the first time, all these bottled up emotions are finally able to seek the oxygen they have craved for so long.

Check out Santa Barbara below:

Premiere: Bella - BOO

BOO are DIY synth pop duo Chris Black and Brigitte Rose. Claiming influence in both ABBA and Devo, you can hear the disco-informed pop of the former and the playful punk-like electronic experimentation of the latter here on Bella.

Bella is the second single to be lifted from BOO’s forthcoming third album Snare, and it shimmers with a summer-like lightness whilst underneath the surface lurks something darker.

Describing the track, BOO said:

We wrote this at the height of Summer just before a big change. It’s full of all the turmoil and excitement that brings and the languid escape of those long hot days.”

Check out Bella below and look out for Snare, out on 10 August. Using the Cold War as inspiration, Snare aims to capture echoes of a divided past and trace them into an uncertain future. You can pre-order Snare here and if you pre-order it now you will get Bella straight away.