Aibai has just dropped a double release with singer Colby Hansen. 

“Aura” is a whirlpool of excitement, narrating a queer relationship and the emotions of seeing a cute girl in a crowd at a concert and wanting to dance with her. “All Night” speaks about being in a relationship that you may have to sacrifice due to moving somewhere to chase your dreams and potentially losing the relationship forever due to that.

Aibai is a 23-year-old producer based in Minneapolis. Her songs are filled with ambient, cinematic soundscapes that create a daydream-like atmosphere. Originally focusing on making electronic music, the young musician has started to diversify her sound in her recent releases, exploring more of the alternative, indie and R&B realm. Inspired by electronic artists like Odesza and Flume, as well as indie/alt greats such as Clairo, Rex Orange County and Goth Babe, Aibai combines these two worlds, while giving it a unique flair of her own. 

“Aura” featuring Colby Hansen is the ultimate masterpiece of dreamy, romantic, summer warmth. The track enters with mirrored rolling waves of synths, oscillating and gently pulsing over harmonic chords glazed in an undeniable uplifting aura. Lyrically the song is a whirlpool of excitement, narrating a queer relationship and the emotions of seeing a cute girl in a crowd at a concert and wanting to dance with her. The song exemplifies the feelings of nervousness and excitement of meeting someone new and wanting to connect on a deeper level. Aibai shares, “I feel like with the pandemic, live music has really taken a toll and this song just makes me want to get out, play a show, dance, enjoy the company of friends and live to the fullest”. Aibai describes the track as a means of bringing hope to the future of live performances and life getting moving again.

Florida artist, Mason Rose Gray. Her latest track “SURVIVE”

Florida artist, Mason Rose Gray. Her latest track “SURVIVE” is the ultimate track for reclaiming your power after a painful break-up. The track bleeds in pain and Billie Eilish-esque tenderness, with moving, husky vocals flooded in emotion and juxtaposed feelings.

Her start in life wasn’t easy. Growing up in poverty, her dreams were put on the backburner, while her family struggled to find money for food and clothes. Her father was controlling and abusive, leaving her feeling powerless. She confides, “Eager to escape that life I put my focus, drive and ambition into pursuing a career that would sustain me financially. I got my bachelors degree in nursing before the age of 21. I vowed to never go back. Although, never fully processing my childhood, the fear of abandonment led me into a long term relationship.” Soon beginning to feel controlled by her girlfriend, Gray felt desperate to escape the housewife trap and reconnect with her true authentic self.

Whilst nursing a mentally dark place, Gray fought through the pain and heartbreak, with songwriting allowing her to express this. Her intimate, debut single “SURVIVE” was written during a bittersweet period of her life. Inspired by the end of a nine-year relationship, the track details the need for soul-searching and reclaiming her life. Gray divulges, “After my relationship, it was the first time I had been alone and on my own. Sitting at my dining table I looked to my left and old flowers were covered in cobwebs. That’s how my first line came about. The rest developed while hiking and doing a lot of soul searching. I used pain, heartbreak and love from my childhood, adolescence and adulthood.”

The new visuals from Los Angeles alt rock band SLUGS have arrived! “I Could Do Better” emits a reflective and experimental sonic appeal through it’s trippy, psychedelic feel.

SLUGS is a four-piece alt rock outfit out of Los Angeles comprised of singer/songwriter/guitarist Marissa Longstreet, Sarsten Noice (bass/vocals), Josh Beavers (lead guitar) and Dash Hutton (drums). Their influences range from Linda Perhacs with their melodic harmonies and tenderness to Thee Oh Sees with their high energy, spitfire performances.

SLUGS latest tune “I Could Do Better” got it’s title after enduring a flight from a poor choice of airline, when the idea of I could do better humorously arose. Later working with a friend the song was written and developed at a time when exploring the journey of sobriety, where the lyrics took a deeper dive into the meaning. The song narrates wanting to find a way back to the blissful naivety of being a child, as well as the wonderful and complicated revelations and the highs and lows during the process of grounding. Longstreet shares, “I compared my carefree attitude as a child, finger painting an image of nothing, to the “I don’t care” attitude of my 20’s. I wrote this song as if it were an intervention on myself, and I was playing both sides. I wanted to find my way back to carefree innocence coming from a place of sinister repetition and complacency.”

“I Could Do Better” emits a reflective and experimental sonic appeal through it’s trippy, psychedelic feel. Somewhat woozy and chill, the song has subtle peaks and falls with wavering vocal melodies that metaphorically pronounce the verified range of emotions. Through jingling high-hats, rocking, rich electric riffs, twangy guitars and a range of percussion that has a softer, tropical sound, “I Could Do Better” is truly transcending. The vocals are soft and restrained, yet clear and powerful, adding to the juxtaposition of the feelings around the journey of going sober. Longstreet explains, “I think the theme is a voyage of floating in space, the big chaotic crash down and every small step after in getting grounded.”

SLUGS have been on tours with LP & The Districts and have opened for Jessica Lea Mayfield, Joywave, Lets Eat Grandma & The Mattson II. Having garnered acclaim from the likes of Refinery29, Live Nation’s Ones to Watch, American Songwriter and Earmilk, SLUGS are certainly an artist to watch in 2021.

Singer-songwriter Nana M. Rose has dropped her long-anticipated debut EP Morning Drops & Lemon Seeds. Skillfully bridging the gap between ethereal indie-folk and big and bold pop ballads, this stunning five-track EP is a journey through Rose’s mind and emotions exploring both the highs and lows of life. The poetic lyricism, powerful ballad vocals and glaze of pop gives the ultimate collection of relatable bangers.

Rotterdam-based singer-songwriter Nana M. Rose writes beautiful, intimate piano ballads, carried by her incredible, larger-than-life voice. Her songs are reminiscent of Adele’s stirring style and have a dreamy, cinematic flair evocative of Lana del Rey. Nana’s delicate, poetic lyrics explore the meaning of human connection in an ultra-competitive, individualistic world. As a child, Nana started playing the violin, the classical influence of which is still reflected in her carefully crafted melodies and arrangements. In combination with later inspirations like Lianne la Havas and Matt Corby, a unique pop-sound steeped in melancholy and weltschmerz has been born. 

Her long-anticipated debut EP Morning Drops & Lemon Seeds, presents a truly riveting body of work that showcases her incredible talent as both a songwriter and vocal performer in all its facets and glory. Skillfully bridging the gap between ethereal indie folk and big and bold pop ballads, Nana has created relatable anthems for the masses. 

The EP embodies the two sides of extreme emotion that she explores throughout her songs, from dark despair to being on top of the world. Nana confides, ”The contradictions really portray the duality of feelings for me. While writing this EP I went through my own journey of self reinvention, and this search contained a lot of contrasting feelings that confused me.” 

The poppy indie number “4AM” encapsulates the feeling of wanting to be out and dancing – a feeling that everyone can relate to during those long months of lockdown. “Imagine closing your eyes and remembering a person you miss, wishing they were with you in that moment. To me, the song is filled with this urge to be free again, to connect with other people on the dancefloor again.” 

“Dream”, is a gorgeous ballad about parental love and makes the singer’s voice shine yet again. Nana reveals, “My parents have been the most dedicated parents I could have wished for and I love them so much, so this is kind of a love song from me for them.”

Nana has built a dedicated fanbase across the globe, having toured the UK, New York and The Netherlands. She was nominated for the 2020 Rotterdam ‘Song of the Year’ award and received airplay from notable stations in both the UK and on leading Dutch radio flagships. It has just been announced that Nana has been selected for this year’s ‘Popronde’, a prestigious showcase festival with various shows all across the Netherlands between September and November this year.

New single from New York Jazz, R&B artist Raina Sokolov–Gonzalez. 

“The Bear” grapples with a need to be desired, while reflecting on an encounter with a shadowy figure who doesn’t have the best of intentions. With a playful musical arrangement, this song turns a hard feeling into a playground of imagination and possibility, turning shadowy characters into bears and crows, turning doubt upside down and finding its flirtatious, sexy edge. 

Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez is a singer/composer based in Brooklyn, New York. Born into a family of musicians, music was Raina’s first language and it runs deep within her veins. Rooted in Jazz and R&B, the songwriter invites us into her unique sonic world with harmonic nuance and lyrical poetry.

Raina’s cross-genre style is built from the bottom up. With improvisation as a starting point for her songs, Raina draws on her emotionality and leans into her perception of the world around, uncovering hidden depths within daily life and articulating personal truth with vulnerability and bravery. Songwriting is her way of processing and understanding life in all its complexity.

If They’re Mine is a cross-section of Raina’s internal landscape, the questions and dynamics that inhabited her for a long period of time. The songwriter shares, “I have formative tensions around desire and deception, around dissociation and attachment. Written in 2017 and 2018, these songs are of a young woman grappling with internal and intimate conflict, searching for truth, embodiment, and resolution.”

Produced with her brother, Jake Sokolov-Gonzalez, the two built these arrangements together over the span of two years. The seven-track release was mixed by Grammy winning engineer Jon Rosenberg and mastered by Ryan Schwabe (Nick Hakim, REI AMI).

In the fairytale-esque story of “The Bear”, RSG reflects on an encounter with a shadowy figure who doesn’t have the best of intentions, and the intrigue and challenge of making a boundary in this context, as she sings, “It would be wise to tell him ‘no, my arms are closed.’ I can’t decide which way to go, can’t feel my toes.” The pre-chorus, which evolves through the song, shows the center of this conflict. In a similar thematic vein as the other songs on the album, “The Bear” grapples with a need to be desired, even for one night, even if all signs are pointing in the other direction. Contrasted with a playful musical arrangement, this song turns a hard feeling into a playground of imagination and possibility, turning shadowy characters into bears and crows, turning doubt upside down and finding its flirtatious, sexy edge. Sonically “The Bear” combines Jazz-infused, sultry sax lines by Leland Baker, storytelling folk lyricism and moments of grooving R&B rhythms, creating something entirely unique, yet comfortingly familiar.