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 …

Single Review: “You’re My Favourite” – Alice Offley

Alice Offley is back with a funky disco track that’s got that summer energy, as the days are getting longer and sunnier this is the tonic that we need. The guitar riff is reminiscent of 80s pop, but Alice brings the bass action making it just as funky – this being her instrument it’s no …

Single Review: “Silence Is Music” – Florie Namir & Franck Biyong

Florie Namir is back with a stunning ballad and a duet partner – Franck Niyong. Their voices are very different, Frank has a soulful touch whereas Florie’s vocals are suited to folk/jazz but they find a middle ground, and this song is a perfect vehicle for this.  It’s an acoustic number, the percussion is gorgeous, …

Single Review: “Mona Lisa” – Daniel Etherton

Daniel came to me as a recommendation from Neil March, Daniel sent me this track for my show and I must say… I’m impressed.  This song combines two of Daniel’s passions – music and fine art, as he is an art historian by day and musician by night.  The imagery in the lyrics are clear, …

Album Review: “The Synesthete” – Joe Adhemar

Joe Adhemar has released a new album. Let’s break it down shall we? “The Synesthete” available on Bandcamp   Found Out  This is a great track to kick off the album with, very bluesy, I like the way vocals have a slight delay to it, the main guitar riff has chromatic notes in there, and …

Single Review: “Going To Watch The Sunrise” – I’M

This is a fantastic piece of electronica from South East London based musician and producer I’M. Lots of of warped basslines mixed in with a beat that you can’t help but move your feet to.  The pitched down vocal sample of “Watch The Sunrise” is simple, but very effective, one of the things that I …