Rissa Boo goes on a rampage, Egert Milder looks over the fence, Dekker knows that you know, Abakan is on the move and more in today’s submissions from Groover, a platform that connects artists with critics like me for a small fee. You can (and should) subscribe to my Tinnitist Groover Top 100 playlist HERE, or you can listen to it via the widget at the lower right of every page on this site. If you want to be in an upcoming playlist, click the link just below the widget or go HERE. But first, be sure to lend an ear (and/or an eye) to today’s excellent offerings:
Rissa Boo | Rampage
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rap.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Rissa Boo is a multipotential artist. Writer, rapper, photographer and experimented backpacker. Hailing from Paris, he began his activism through graffiti and breakdance before moving to New York City to feel closer to the hip-hop culture. He started rapping on his first mixtapes while backpacking in South America, Asia and Africa, where he took several photographes from every corner of our planet, meeting people, discovering its different cultures and having a blast everywhere he went. After a few years of reflection, he released his first album Heritage To Defend as well as two EPs featuring tracks in English, French and Portuguese, crossing varied atmospheres and influences, posing with a theatrical and dynamic flow. For his new EP, Rissa Boo presents Rampage: a conscious, dark & cynical rap about the state of our world. Released on Sept. 11, the EP Scientifik stands out from rap trends of the moment with a tasty mix of alternative rap, rock and electro punk.”
Egert Milder | Your Green is Better
HOME BASE: Estonia.
GENRE: Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Egert Milder is an independent singer-songwriter from Estonia creating soulful indie-rock tunes inspired by his travels across the world. Your Green Is Better is an upbeat folk pop song perfect for a road trip or as a fun soundtrack for a day on a beach. This catchy song is about how the grass always seems greener on the other side but people close to you are what really matter. This happy-go-lucky sounding tune is written by three German and Estonian songwriters and producers and sounds similar to the likes of Jack Johnson, George Ezra or Vance Joy.”
Dekker | I Think You Know
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Folk.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Known as the American half of the 14-year-old Anglo-American indie-folk duo Rue Royale, Brookln Dekker is also now a solo artist under the surname-moniker Dekker. Brookln has been the principal songwriter for the band over the years, writing on behalf of the duo from a collective perspective. Dekker now sees Brookln writing from a hopeful and more personal perspective. He’s releasing his album Slow Reveal by slowly revealing it one song at a time. I Think You Know is Dekker’s latest track from Slow Reveal: Chapter One, which drops Nov. 6.”
Abakan | Going Somewhere
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Soul / R&B.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Growing up near Paris, Abakan‘s musical enlightenment came from listening to Earth, Wind and Fire and George Benson’s vocal madness from morning till night. His love for music came early on thanks to a musician/singer father who fortunately introduced him to everyone from Toto to Al Jarreau. “When others were dreaming of being the hero of the movie, I was only dreaming being the soundtrack.” In 2014, he released his first album A New Man: An organic album with a live feel. A mixture of influences without compromise, characterized by many rich collaborations.”
Mike Watts | Sober
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Soul / R&B.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: Nothing. Mike Watts lets his music do the talking.
FOMO | Premier League
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rap.
THE TRANSLATED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “FOMO is an artist of today who is difficult to place in a box. Juggling between song and rap, between instrumental trap and acoustic version, between maturity and eternal childhood, the lyrics are punchy, the melodies are catchy and the flow transports us. Sometimes virulent in words, everything is forgiven the young rapper, thanks to this voice that is both soft and assertive. A balance which he has made his stated objective. From Jay-Jay Okocha to Mihajlovic via Keanu Reeves, the personalities who have marked his life parade in a technical sequence that surprises. With a raw softness, his album 1965 initiates FOMO’s quest for harmony, in the form of permanent and perfectly accepted questioning.”
Matt Barri & Meggie York | Alright
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Electro-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Young producer Matt Barri (age 19) and singer/songwriter Meggie York (age 19) have teamed up on a track that is leaving everyone in amazement. This emotionally charged energetic song hits with the real life feelings of putting yourself out there and being vulnerable to take a chance on love and acceptance. With stunning imagery and a powerful sounds, this song really takes you to another life. With Meggie’s emotional performance and Matt’s colorful production the two have painted their vision of love and it’s complexities using nothing but sounds.”
The Foundation of Freedom | A Never Ending Wall
HOME BASE: United Kingdom
GENRE: Prog-Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am a 21-year-old self-taught solo artist/producer/arranger who has created The Foundation of Freedom to push and explore, the conventions and boundaries of music, which is particularly vital today in this ever-changing world we find ourselves. I play every instrument and perform all vocals. My vision is to allow the listener to view the world in a more holistic and almost spiritual way without being misled by the media which tells us how to think and what to believe. So, wake up from your blissful ignorance and think for yourself. If by choosing to express myself by creating Deep Music for a Shallow World, I hopefully change your perception even a little, I will have succeeded in my goal. This is the final track from my debut album Deep Music for a Shallow World, every track segues into each other on the album. I threw everything at this as a finale.”
Lil Gemi | Gem Life
HOME BASE: Sweden.
GENRE: Hip-Hop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Rising Swedish rapper Lil Gemi debuted his first single All On My Mind back in April 2020 and made an underground breakthrough, building his own platform and Gemiverse. He is now back with the second single Gem Life, which carries a positive energy and fills all the criteria for the perfect new-wave trap song.”
I Am The Eye | The Awakening
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “At the intersection of various currents of electronic music, I Am The Eye’s music is fed by multiple influences. Melody and energy are core elements of his style and will transpire in his eight instrumental tracks, expected to be released by March 2021. “As a newcomer to the musical landscape, producer and French musician at the crossroads of various currents of electronic music, I want to share good vibrations and positive energy with as many people as possible.”
Stef | Sour Reimagined
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Stef is still new on the pop scene, but her artistry is drawn from her life’s experience. like many musicians born in the south, the Huntsville, Alabama native developed her ear for melody by singing in church. Now residing in Nashville, she remains surrounded by a musical community pushing pop forward. Her debut EP Why Do I Laugh When I Cry? released in September 2019, and found immediate success. Stef’s ambitious projects are a collision of honest songwriting and innovative pop production. At age 20, she’s only getting started, but she’s been preparing for this her entire life.”In 2019 I released Sour, a dark electro pop song with a heavy track. This song begs for a lyrical spotlight, so my team and I wondered what it would sound like stripped back to highlight the emotional lyrics. Sour is about being in a toxic relationship that is flamed by chaos, full of broken promises and you’re afraid to end it. It’s Sour Reimagined.”
Zaînab | Delusional
HOME BASE: Belgium.
GENRE: Soul / R&B.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Zaînab Bengla is a Belgian-Moroccan multi-genre singer and songwriter based in Brussels. Zaînab started singing at a very young age; she is known for her deep vocals mixed with an interesting blend between R&B and Pop, resulting in quite a special sound. Zaînab launched her very first EP Everything Comes With a Price in January, 2020. More recently, Zaînab released the dark cinematic R&B/Pop song Delusional.”
Eric Dash | I Just Need To Get Away
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Growing up in Cherry Hill, N.J., Eric Dash had an obsession with music from a young age. “I remember being 11 or 12, wanting to be in Blink-182 so bad. The way they could amp up a crowd made me think that I wanted to be that one to create that feeling — for myself and others.” By his early teens he had already been writing and playing multiple instruments for years, recording EPs and playing shows all over the Tri-State area. When Dash got discovered by his first producer and manager, Jack Joseph Puig, his career took off. “I wrote I Just Need To Get Away in a time when I worked as a busser and waited tables to get by. I was lost and so insecure, had gotten used to being rejected by labels, and it felt like rock and singer/songwriter music was dead. This song set me free and helped me regain the confidence to keep trying.”
Fransoafran | I Have Loved You
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: Classical.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m a French-born Australian modern-classical and electric violinist, composer, music producer and original performer. My music aims at shining the light on organic instruments, in particular strings, by supporting them with modern sounds and arrangements. Inspired to learn piano and violin at an early age by my mother who was a violinist and a science professor, I grew a taste for performing, and especially improvising music. After a classical training, I became part of multiple French bands as a jazz and rock violinist. Since moving to Australia, I now produce and release my own music and also compose music for soundtracks. Immersive and emotional in style, I Have Loved You is the first collaboration between pianist Laura Christie Wall & Violinist Francois Mathian (aka Fransoafran). It represents the painful moments spent longing after a lost relationship; not ready to let go but accepting that it is necessary to save your heart from a one-sided love.”
City James | P.T.S.D ft. Travis Walker
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Soul / R&B.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “City James as an artist has been a mirror to himself and the world around him. Every line or opinion is unfiltered and unapologetically spoken by a man who is just passionate enough to say it. From the Inland Empire region of Southern California, he has been forced to see both sides of the coin of life and society and uses art to express how he feels about it all. Lyrics will vary from his struggles of financial hardship, the plight of a black man, the battles of being young in California, sex, vices, dreams, God, death, family and the wish for a utopia even though in his world the chances are slim. As a single teen father with full custody, he’s vowed to make a living following his dreams not only for the chance of financial freedom but to prove to his daughter it is possible to live her dreams as well. Originally a poet, City has made the transition to rapper in order to reach more people and get the attention of whoever is willing to listen. He’s influenced by the likes of Jay Z, Yasiin Bey, DMX, Kendrick Lamar, Tupac Shakur and Ice Cube and hopes to soon be in the conversation of West Coast greats but this time from the IE. P.T.S.D is a song about protecting & uplifting black women around the world. The song is from the upcoming More of the Same EP that speaks to the black plight and gives just a glimpse into the various emotions black people may feel in the wake of death and oppression which happens to be a constant. More of the Same is pain, resilience, love, strength, and aggression in a 13-minute time period.”
https://soundcloud.com/onlydpsnds/p-t-s-d-ft-travis-walker/s-MxSmP1M3EVy
