Kaptan – “The Hardest Part”
The music of this songwriter could be used to teach a course on dream pop. His vocals are smooth and ethereal, while the bass works in and out of an almost shoe gaze style guitar burst. Catchy both sonically and lyrically, “The Hardest Part” is a jam from someone who has discovered how to craft tight and anthemic sounds that are highly memorable. His EP, Over You, has already seen singles launch him into a larger musical conversation. He has racked up an impressive amount of streams on the various platforms, while garnering praise of many industry insiders.
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Chappell Roan – “Die Young”
We were entranced the first time we heard the young singer songwriter Chappell Roan. Touring alongside Vance Joy and Declan McKenna, the artist blends electro, folk, and soul in a deeply emotive way. Her video for “Die You” shows her true artistic vision for the song, as she explains; “I wanted it to be very simple. It was hard to go back to the place and really feel the emotions of the song because I wrote it when I was 16. It’s been a few years now, so going back into that mindset and doing the video was really hard. But the whole concept of water, of going under water, has always been there for me. That’s how I was feeling. I couldn’t breathe.” You are going to want to get into the music of Roan now before she totally owns 2018.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PXz2gNNR9o]
Will Stewart – “Sipsey”
What struck us immediately from the alt-country artist Will Stewart were his Dan Auerbach style road worn vocals. We could literally hear him sing anything, and we would be compelled to cover him. His sound is at both times mature, as well as childlike. He bounces through memory with a refreshing nostalgia that continues to make us fall in love with his memorable sound. “Sipsey” gets its name from a town in northwest Alabama, and his sound is beautifully encapsulated in the visual it creates in our minds. It floats and punches with expert precision while calming and comforting like only home can do.
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Camden – “Friend”
“Hope you want what you got and you got what you wanted” croons the soulful songwriter. Blending minimal electro with soul waves, he was heavily influenced by jazz, gospel, and hip-hop, and you can tell within “Friend” just how much. His level of crafting a song is near perfect as he blends genre in a near perfect way. Residing in Nashville currently, he will be continuing to release electronic pop gold throughout the year to come.
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