Listen: Slow Down - GRAE

Slow Down is the latest single from Toronto alternative pop artist GRAE.

With an indie R&B feel and a smoky feel to her vocal, GRAE gives Slow Down a sultry, moody sound. The verse has a downbeat, earnest feel that carries this straight into a chorus that smacks of delirium. “I’ve gotta slow down...”, Grae states, whilst ultimately only further stoking her obsession.

The production has a wonderfully understated feeling - a series of simple piano chords, light percussion and a few additional flourishes are all that is applied. That restraint contrasts to the song’s lyrics, which feel high-stakes and betray the sense of being out-of-control.

Discussing the song, GRAE says:

”Slow Down was fun to write because I had never explored this kind of topic before. I find, as a woman, sometimes it’s hard to express your wants and desires, in fear of being judged or shamed. So I wanted to touch on this subject to get more in tune with that side of myself.”

Check out Slow Down below.

Premiere: Chemical Odysseys - B.A.D.A.

Chemical Odysseys is the brand new track from NPR-featured electronic indie pop duo B.A.D.A, taken from their upcoming album Exile.

B.A.D.A are Brazilian artist & producer Pedro Cesario and Brooklynite multi-instrumentalist and producer Carey Clayton. Together they spent 2019 pursuing their ambition of conceptually deep music that differentiates itself within the crowded alternative electronic pop space.

Chemical Odysseys is a song that taps into a universal, and sadly deeply pertinent, anxiety - the fear of dying alone. Talking to the personal experience of loneliness that inspired the song, the band said:

”I lived for years in a passive state of psychedelia, trying to search for things that would allow me to stay up. Ultimately succumbing to my own loneliness and accepting it as a part of who i am is what made clean… That's part of what the world is experiencing now, I guess.”

Pulling together warm electronics, emotive vocals and psychedelic, melodic flourishes, Chemical Odysseys has a lovely, blissful feel to it. The sounds washes over you gently, creating a sense of acceptance and easiness in the listener. As it builds, the bass picks up the pace a little and the production conjures up a feeling of speed, of lightness, the audible equivalent of letting go and finding peace.

Listen: Trippin - Sara Jackson-Holman

Sarah Jackson-Holman is a American singer-songwriter based in LA. With music that has appeared in shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Riverdale and Orange Is The New Black amongst others, she is back following a three-year hiatus and ready to release not just one, but two new EPs across different genres. First up is Candy, and this will be followed by the distinctively titled Beep Beep Bitch.

Tippin is lifted from the Candy EP, and is described as a surrender the the free falling obsession of new love. There is a distinctive sound here that combines the slow, methodical feel of 70s rock - a dark, Fleetwood Mac feeling that combines with electronic production to create something that sounds reminiscent of Chromatics.

The song gracefully unfolds, wrapping itself arms around you gradually, starting gently yet ultimately feeling a little bit suffocating... It captures that feeling of a love that just won’t let you go.

Trippin by Sara Jacksonn-Holman, released 13 March 2020

Watch: This Is Not A Band - Carré

This Is Not A Band starts on a nine, and only further cranks things up from there. It’s been a while since I’ve heard something as hard and electronic as this and felt so instantly grabbed... The track layers together the kind of dark bass line that reminds me of Jilted Generation era Prodigy but combines it with elements of French touch - the techno flourishes of Daft Punk and the distortion-heavy sound of Justice. The result was that before the track even got going, I found myself dancing on my own in the kitchen one morning.

It’s the build that really makes This Is Not A Band shine though. As the song hits it’s mid-point, the vocals begin to deliver the kind of punky assertions we expect from Soulwax and LCD Soundsystem. And it just keeps going, aggressively layering noise upon noise until, suddenly, it just stops... And I instantly go back and start it all again.

Carré means square, but can also be translated to playing tight, or on point, a term that definitely feels relevant here. The trio are French, but are based in LA, and started out in 2019 with the focus on two drummers being a statement, and a calling card. Their focus in on creating music that tries to avoid preoccupation with form and structure, and instead embrace a surrealist view of the world, inspired by geometrical shapes and patterns. The band lay out their philosophy:

“There’s something about not getting attached to the form, when you step back and disengage yourself from the form, you become in touch with something more pure and spiritual, while remaining in the square.”

Check out This Is Not A Band below:

Listen: 18 - NEIMY

Some two-years post her appearance on Jubël’s acclaimed track, Dancing In The Moonlight, Swedish indie pop musician NEIMY is back with new single 18.

18 is a nostalgic song that looks to capture the experience of first becoming aware of being an adult, as NEIMY explains:

”My song 18 is about looking back at that innocent time when you were in the beginning of being an adult. How you might look back and realize that you still were so little and fragile but felt like you ruled the world. I hope and wish that the listener remembers a special time when they were younger and hopefully relate and feel the vibes of that sweet innocent time.”

The song itself was put together with collaborators and co-writers Eric Wictor and Erik Petterson as the trio experimented with a series of soft piano chords and stories of their teenage years. The resulting song is a introspective walk through your memories, wrapped up in warm, dreamlike melodies and a crisp layer of production.