Single Review: “Bluff” – Morena Santi and D’Larm

This tune… Morena comes out all cylinders firing with a fine vocal over drums made up 808 sounds, and analogue synth parts. This is the kind of tune you can easily get down to.  Morena delivers a playful vocal, which sits right on top of the instrumental, and you can tell she had fun while …

Single Review: “When Love Comes (Jae Euax Remix)”

This song comes with such a gentle Afro beat flavour that took me back to the mother land. Sharyn dropped a gospel flavour that fuses beautiful harmonies with a beat that has percussion doing most of the work, but with the occasional 808 dropping a kick here and there. But this is not about the …

Single Review: “Tinder Bios” – Nina Mckendrick

This song literally embodies all that’s wrong with modern dating in the 21st Century, lyrically referencing how some people have pictures taken with people that they claim to be their sister, all the dating cliches like photos of you in the gym, and not taking yourself too seriously.  In the hell that’s the online dating …

Single Review: “Scenarios” – Mark Hill ft. Esco Williams

Mark Hill is back after a hiatus. And he brought a banger!  Vocals by Esco Williams – what we have here is a track that starts off on a slow build. This could really work well with a full band…. Piano laying down the chords with the strings, Esco brings a flavour of gospel, soul …

Single Review: “Drowning In Fire” – Dani Slovak

I like the ethereal reverb vocal intro to this, it makes a very pleasant surprise when the actual lead kicks in a little bit later. The drums are hard hitting, I like the fact it’s not a conventional snare, it has a bit of an industrial thud to it, and it sits well with everything …

Single Review: “My Revolution” – Red Bird Rising. Words: Sammy Stein

‘My Revolution’ is a powerful release from Red Bird Rising and features Ukrainian musicians Taras Kuznetzov and Ana Pshokina. It was written by Diedrich Donald Weiss and the story behind the release is profound and moving, demonstrating the power of music and a bit of determination.  Composer Diedrich Donald Weiss wanted to do something, in response …

Single Review: “Home” – NX Panther & Jay Johnson

This is a great slice of hip hop from London rapper NX Panther, she mixes chilled strings and drums with a rap and some singing, this is easy to get into.  The strings at the beginning are padded out nicely I imagine there’s some phasing on that, to make it even more rounder in sound. …

Single Review: “Captain Elon” – Garlen Lo

This. Is. Bloody. Brilliant.  This song is a commentary on life in the 21st century – specifically with one of the world’s richest men having enough wealth and influence to be able to make a difference.  Lyrically this references climate change, the rise of AI technology, fake news, countries tweeting other countries, and of course …

Single Review: “Voices Of Jericho” – Survibers ft. Aniff Akinola

Survibers are back and they’ve deployed a true wordsmith in Aniff Akinola.  He’s given a fantastic backdrop of slap bass  which slips between that and a squelchy synth bass, over a chilled out hip hop beat with a synth pad playing some dark progressions. The vocals are ethereal, Katrina has switched gears here as she’s …

Single Review: “Patience” – JFlames ft. Amethyst

JFlames is back with a smooth retro soul track! And he’s brought with him a singer that delivers the goods!  Amethyst is the star here, bringing a vocal that’s so warm to the ear, and boy can she harmonise. JFlames has given her a lush blanket of a beat to wrap her vocals around. The …