Listen: Ghost - NOPRISM

Ghost arrives gleaming with polished surfaces whilst dark analogue bass rebounds around the insides of your head. Hi-fi synth stabs drench you in dreams of retro futurism whilst raw brass gives this an earthy, human feel. It’s all capped off with a darkly delivered vocal that gives Ghost a crisp, soulful feeling.

But overall, the lasting effect here is one of pop… This is pure, unashamed, electronic pop. And it’s glorious.

Depicting the lingering, haunting memory of something you can’t have, Ghost is about being stopped in your tracks when you least expect it. It’s also the kind of song that makes me want to dance through pain, and I know we all feel enough of that right now.

Hailing from Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north of England, NOPRISM are a duo who came from a background in noise-guitar bands who now make nu wave electronic music. Deeply indebted to the likes of Prince, New Order, Talking Heads and Chaka Khan, whilst building in modern influences that include Justice and Todd Terje, NOPRISM ultimately make unpretentious good old pop music.

Check out Ghost below, and look for it on streaming platforms from 13 April:

Listen: Heart Is Broken - This Boy

Debut album Year One will be released later this spring, but the overall theme woven through the album is that of the force of everyday habits that can have both a liberating and limiting effect. When viewed from a distance, the role of pattern and schedule can make each day feel very similar.

Heart Is Broken is the debut single from This Boy, and starts in the mould of an alternative R&B joint - falsetto vocals and dark projection create a sense of isolation on a song that depicts the feeling of hurt that comes at the point our hearts snap. Yet this is high concept pop... In time, the song transforms into a transcendent piece as a huge choral refrain kicks in, an angelic moment that feels like it captures the feeling of salvation that comes as a heart becomes as broken as it can be, and the process of healing begins.

Moments of true heartbreak are tragic and immensely painful, yet they also represent the moment when the repair can start. Musically, Heart Is Broken represents a sound quite unlike anything I’ve heard before. Give it a listen and wait for the healing to begin.

Listen: Sign - SUMif

Having taken most of 2019 out to focus on an album, SF-based queer pop musician Steph Wells is back with Sign.

The second single to be taken from the forthcoming album, Sign deals with the loss of control that comes from wanting more of someone than they can give you. It can be a disorientating experience - knowing that the reason you can’t have more may be nothing to do with you, and yet just needing some sort of sign that the other person knows you are still there and still matter.

Wells brings the emotion of Sign to bear in the most nakedly vulnerable way I’ve heard on a SUMif record… The openness with which she expresses her emotional needs leaves a lasting impression, as the instrumentation gently stutters, simple and equally exposed. It’s an impressing demonstration of the range we can expect from the album - slower, more considered and, frankly, sadder than most of what we get from SUMif.

Connect with SUMif: Facebook: facebook.com/sumifmusic Instagram: instagram.com/sumifmusic Soundcloud: @sumifmusic Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/3o0KTphy4FM2GAJE3CxBmO www.sumifmusic.com Produced by Neek Mixed/Masted by David Burris Lyrics: I saw the same strong signal I saw it coming You were slipping under but i don’t wanna give you up I never wanna give you up Won’t you Gimme gimme gimme All of you Tell me tell me tell me What I have to do To get to you So tell me what you want from me Missing your high You know i’d give you everything Wont you let me try I know you need to be alone But i need you tonight I need an answer What’s in your head So… send me a sign And i would swim forever Take my chances Know it will get better Cuz I don’t wanna give you up I never wanna give you up So tell me what you want from me Missing your high You know i’d give you everything Wont you let me try I know you need to be alone But i need you tonight I need an answer What’s in your head So… send me a sign

Listen: Story - Magdalena Bay

Magdalena Bay is US duo Mica Tehenbaum and Matthew Lewin, and having first appeared on BlackPlastic.co.uk last year they are back with new single Story.

Story came out of Magdalena Bay’s moment of clarity - the point where an aspiring artist discovers how hard it can be to succeed. In the words of Mica:

“We wrote Story after the first time our hopes and dreams were dashed. The song is a look back at our previously naive selves, who thought it would all be so easy- as if!”

The duo deliberately focus on swerving the sound of sad-songs-on-the-radio and purposely bring a sense of fun to their music. Despite its inspiration, Story has an upbeat feel, riding on lovely and loose elastic bass and energetic synths. It is only Mica’s breathless vocals that betray an aloofness rooted in disappointment... And the result is perfect - the feeling of an artist performing, and yet keeping just a little bit for themselves.

Listen to our EP everywhere: https://magdalenabay.lnk.to/LittleRhythmIN

Watch: Favourite Game - Von Marlon x Lea Giovanna

Having gone through both a personal and musical split, Von Marlon was created in 2017 as the solo project of a 26-year-old producer of Iranian-Irish descent. Hailing from London, the Von Marlon alias is derived from a line by Mike Skinner, itself reflecting a youth spent growing up surrounded by UK urban and experimental artists like The Streets, Wiley, Radiohead and Massive Attack.

Following on from previous singles Searching and Tripping, Von Marlon released EP Journeys at the end of last year. Favourite Game is the latest single from that EP, and features vocals from German vocalist Lea Giovanna.

Favourite Game was created whilst travelling, depicting the experience and joy that comes from travelling, either alone or with others. Written both in Berlin and London, the song and video capture the in-between moments in journeys and the impact distance has on relationships.

The resulting track is a deep, dubby electronic track with pop elements. Von Marlon’s falsetto vocals create combine with Giovanna’s delivery to create beautiful constrasting harmonies and the production work draws on the darker, heavier feel of dance music that both London and Berlin are famous for.

Check out Favourite Game below.