The Hell Raisin’ Hippies invade your space, Charlene heads for the border, Clay and Friends shake things up, 6ixexex is hard on himself, Toxi Faktory deliver some orders — and I’m delivering today’s submissions from Groover, a platform that connects artists with critics like me for a small fee. You can (and should) visit to my Tinnitist Top 150 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, press play on these gems:
The Hell Raisin’ Hippies | Trance of the Alien Vaccine
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Dark trance and electronica with an alien perspective! Banned on Facebook for ‘Inciting Fear,’ Trance of the Alien Vaccine is a psychedelic dark comedy with two aliens conversing on a Zoom call as a frightened human subject receives the vaccine. The song ends happily with the subject successfully vaccinated. In fact, the song celebrates all vaccines and the anticipated end of the Covid-19 pandemic by purifying our precious amino acids. Listen now if you dare!”
https://youtu.be/_J5ucmppQZE
Charlēne | Les Frontières
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Electro-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Here is my new song Les Frontières. It’s pop, electro, sensual and confident. I am from Montreal, Canada.”
Clay and Friends | Bouge Ton Thang
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Funk.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Clay and Friends offer a punchy blend of hip-hop, soul and funk. In March 2017, the group released their first album Conformopolis, and in 2019 released the EP La Musica Popular De Verdun. Clay and Friends followed up with a French-language opus Grouillades, in January, 2020. The Montreal quintet and Friends is shaking things up (including your butt) with the release of the single Bouge Ton Thang. Says Mike Clay: “I dreamed that I met Robert Charlebois on a dance floor. After we finished his bottle of gin, he started explaining to me the future of popular music in Verdun. When I woke up, I wrote down the last words he said to me before leaving: ‘Move, Move your thang’ — wise words.”
6ixexex | Hate Myself
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m 6ixexex. Friends call me Ben. This is among my strongest tracks. I’m influenced predominantly by Lil Peep, JuiceWrld, Bones and xxxTentacion. My music is meant for people who aren’t in the best of mindsets in their lives. Sort of like a reassurance to listeners other people know what it’s like to be sad and that’s OK.”
Toxi Faktory | New World [Dis]Order
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Industrial.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Toxi Faktory play an energic metal, mixing prog, electro-industrial and punk influences in a dystopian universe. This track comes from their second album The Tower Below, released in 2020. The universe of Toxi Faktory is a sort of post-apocalyptic tale, drawing inspiration from dystopian science fiction literature. They imagine the world after Le Grand Cataclysme, the third world war, set in 2025. The Tower Below is a descent into the depths of Toxi Faktory, the laboratory that ensures the methodical coherence of the system. The Tower Below is a sort of huge library that holds all of the system’s information.”
Jamaz | Aisance
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Rap.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Jamaz is a Montreal singer-songwriter and visual artist. Originally from Paris, he moved to Quebec with his family in 2007. The self-taught artist is preparing an EP to be released on June 18. The young visionary of the group LaF (La Famille Soin Entreprise), Jamaz goes solo with the calm, technique, ambition and naturalness that we know him. Hungry and ready to impose his most avant-garde style, he arrives with Aisance (Ease) by arranging his art to the different cultures that shape him.”
Montana Sharp | Power
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “True to her name, the vibrant and quick-witted Montana Sharp has been serving up a delicious mix of classic rock and cinematic orchestral original music. Marrying her classical piano background with soaring powerhouse vocals, her upcoming EP BloodMoon is set for later this year.”
Simulated Youth | Ghost In The Machine
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Based in Phoenix, Simulated Youth create retro and futuristic dance music with a dark twist. To drive their thought-provoking song themes, you’ll hear some aggressive breaks, ethereal drops, and clever arrangements. Their goal is always to balance the emotion of the track between bright and dark parts, ultimately providing a fun and original sound as listeners dance away. Ghost in the Machine is a dark dance / cyberpunk-style rap song about diminishing freedom of speech and overbearing surveillance around the world … Check out the line-by-line, syllable-by-syllable rhyming in the lyrics.”
https://youtu.be/fO6qrJEOPnA
AleyNa | La Course
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Founded in 2010 in Bordeaux, the French pop-rock duo AleyNa move fast. They are preparing their fourth album, their first release after an extended break. You can year echoes of Yungblud, Avril Lavigne and Machine Gun Kelly in their music, while their lyrics are influenced by Stephan Eicher and Kyo. La Course is the first single from the six-track EP Après la Nuit, which will be released in October.”
$moke | Glass Castle In The Sky
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Inspired by the likes of Studio Ghibli.”
Clide | Can’t Give Back Your Love
HOME BASE: Germany.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “While Clide loves writing and singing piano ballads, is an outspoken aficionado of pop music, and likes modern & fresh sounds that build bridges between the genres of international pop, urban and R&B. Although still young, Clide knows what adjectives he wants his music to be associated with: Authentic, innovative and raw. He wants to talk about things that move him and are close to his heart. Of course, love is one of those things but so are questions around his own identity, the search for truth, dreams and interpersonal relationships. Can’t Give Back Your Love captures a moment of time in which one had to make a tough decision and is now faced with the emotional aftermath of the situation: ‘I got inspired to write it, because I wanted to give a different perspective on a heartbreak, that isn’t talked about as much as the other way around. It is about the pain that comes with breaking someone’s heart, and knowing the pain you’re causing the other person to feel. Even though being the one that usually gets blamed, it still hurts and might not be easy at all, never having had the intention or wanting to leave them hurt like that, but having to do what you know is best for you and the other person.”
New Bleach | Night
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Indie-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “When all else fails, you’ve got to start anew. You’ve got to destroy what was to mold what’s to come. New Bleach are the new indie-pop project from two members of renowned Francophone rock band Caravane. Dominic Pelletier and Raphaël Potvin wished to explore new sonic territories and creating music that feels current, but intimate. Their first EP Impressions is out now! The duo kick off this album with Night, a collaboration with emerging artist Ariane Roy. Written in a single night of solitude, this epic power ballad unfolds like an invitation to meditate on the simple things that keep us alive. Built around a transcendent vocal melody coupled with a guitar line, the song transforms to the rhythm of the emotion that fuels it.”
Rumble | Warm Up (Intro)
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Electronca.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “The concept of the album: Interweaving samples from all walks of life and from all eras. Confusing musical universes, traveling from old-school hip-hop to digital boom-bap, combining trip-hop with bass music while heckling Dancehall. They create music where everyone brings their influences in the service of the same quest: To find the ideal sound. In this quest, Rumble have teamed up with artists from all over the world to push the limits of their productions even further.”
Tenebleu | Omniscient
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Parisian-born trilingual songwriter Tenebleu flies between rap, R&B and soul tracks, weaving between abstract hip-hop and the drum & bass jungle, by trap and drill music, through his engaged, poetic and impactful lyrics. He says: “Omniscient is a Dadaist-inspired clip, a bombardment of images that reflect the one we go through, like the 3,000 advertising images we face every day. In a world where everyone thinks that their opinion can be expressed all the time on any subject, how to tell the true from the false? Because after all, nobody is omniscient.”
Kamka | My Turn
HOME BASE: France / Italy.
GENRE: Soul-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “This song is the result of a self-composed / written / interpreted / recorded production, brought from the depths of my guts. The goal was to condense the energy of the most powerful and universal music genres according to me, in order to give goosebumps to the listener. I wrote it because I am bored of nowaday’s music — everything sounds the same to me — so I wanted to offer something different, surprising, powerful that will make your mind travel. No autotune, no ghostwriting, just pure quality.”
Flowery Beard | Mawon
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: World Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Flowery Beard is a singer-songwriter who was born in Haiti. His mission is to get his experiences, lessons and morals out to the world. As he says: “Sharing our story with others can help each other to feel better.” You can immediately hear the deepness of his thoughts with his lyrical output and the instrumentals supporting his melancholic but hopeful, inspiring sound. His songs are confessional and culturally aware, which will send the listener on a new kind of journey. Flowery Beard has been inspired by Bob Marley, Frank Ocean and Kanye West. Mawon is an authentic EP that gives us an intimate experience of a universe in which jazz, hip-hop and Afrobeat intertwine.”
Mathieu Bourret | Chrysalide
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Mathieu Bourret is a Montreal pianist and composer. In addition to his solo career, he was a pianist for the group Oktopus for nine years. He launched Leonides, his first EP, in September 2020. This track is the opening of the album. One can imagine the power of the sun on a snowy hillock or on a gloomy state towards the end of winter. Melting, returning energy, vital energy allowing nature to return to creation.”
Maël Isaac | Slutty Leader
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Electro-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m Maël Isaac, french harpist, singer, composer and producer. I love making fusion music and break rules. I think all is possible in music; you just have to be free. Corrosive and pungent, Slutty Leader goes crazy and attacks politics and its leaders who are far too self-centered. Could childhood trauma be responsible for their megalomania? it’s a hypothesis supported by this latest experiment.”
https://soundcloud.com/mms-rec/slutty-leader/s-bpogjC3evom?in=mms-rec/sets/mael-isaac-swirl-pt2-mael-isaac//s-YocFhfzTJ3U
Myyora | One Song
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Born in London with roots in France, The Congo and England, Myyora is full of quiet contradictions. She splits her time between edgy urban London and an eco-friendly garden centre in Provence, getting her manicured nails dirty in the earth. Music has forever been the essence of her life. A songstress of the soul, Myyora blends the different musical aspects of her mixed heritage and travel experiences, creating poetic, nature-inspired music and reverberating dance numbers, subtly traversing genres as she goes.”
Sam Thellend | Nouveau Départ
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Sam Thellend began his professional career in musical theater shows such as Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast and Dirty Dancing. He launched his first EP La Trajectoire Des Possibles in 2018. His path continues with the second single Nouveau Départ (New Start), a song that tells of a turning point — the moment when we decide to choose ourselves. It is about the courage to move forward and create meaning; a song filled with light which talks about freedom and letting go of your madman. As Thellend sings, “ridicule will not kill you.”
Calico | My Darlin’
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Much like their name, chosen from a lyric off an upcoming record that references the vibrant fall hillside of interior British Columbia bearing resemblance to a calico cat, Calico’s sound is full of texture and colour. Drawing parallels to a classic Folk-Americana feel, Calico create meditative and dreamy jams about the wonderful experiences life holds. The latest single My Darlin’ is a calming yet upbeat ode to a past relationship between a man and his dog Saloh. While living in the vivid setting of Granada, Spain, lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist Tony Cecchetti came across a young pup on the side of the road. Granada was full of dogs, but for some reason, this one stole Tony’s heart, leading him to take her home. After a few obstacles, Tony managed to take Saloh back to Canada, and eventually wrote My Darlin’. “This song brings me back to a time in my life of adventure, risk, and acting on something that I deeply believed in,” Tony says. “I wanted to give an opportunity to an animal that deserved a chance in life and I had the honor and privilege to make that decision. I learned to trust my instinct and gut and, more than anything, to trust myself.” My Darlin’ is the last single before Calico’s upcoming debut album Under A Sudden Sun drops in July.”
Jonas | All Systems Go (ft. Sharlene Hector & Kuku Agami)
HOME BASE: Denmark.
GENRE: R&B / Soul.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “After more than 20 years in the music business, Jonas has a CV that will impress most people. He has been crowned the Godfather of Scandinavian soul by international media, and has worked with some of the biggest artists on the scene. He is now ready to put out the EP All Systems Go, which is made up of five songs that have been in the vault for some time, written with high-profile artists from the U.K. and U.S. All Systems Go is a call for people to stand together against injustice and segregation. It tells us to dare to dream about a better world, and to resist the forces that are trying to divide us. “The world is becoming more and more polarized. No matter whether you are . In many ways the corona pandemic has only made it worse. All Systems Go is about going against a system that is trying to make us hate each other. There’s more money and power in playing us out against each other. Let’s not fall for that.”
Amadeus Mozza | Your Best Follower
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Sharp melodies atop EDM and urban beats with Queen-style harmonies. A hybrid between Billie Eilish and Beck, merging French touch and pop with rap flashes. A mashup name somewhere between music and consumer product. A cynical anti-hero in his colorful universe, regurgitating consumerism. Your Best Follower is the ambiguous love message that Instagram or Facebook would deliver to one of his users. As social networks collect data to target sales, they can be considered as the user’s best follower. Take a melodic pop chorus, rap and soul verses, pour them on a heavy filtered synth and punchy electro beats. Stir on ternary Afro grooves and you get Amadeus Mozza’s single.”
Blitz Union | Revolution (Zardonic Remix)
HOME BASE: Czechia
GENRE: Synth-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Blitz Union are a furious rock band that combine melodic pop toplines with hard rock and EDM. Using a blend of heavy guitar riffs, industrial metal overtones and rock vocals, Blitz Union refuse to be put into a specific genre or category. The band stand for much more than music. Blitz Union are about standing together in times of uncertainty, pointing out social, economic and political issues. Sometimes they are serious and forceful. Sometimes they are ironic and sarcastic. But they are never conventional. After great reception of their first collaborative efforts, Blitz Union team up with legendary DJ Zardonic once again to deliver a powerful, fierce and thought-provoking remix of the single Revolution — an important song in times of global, environmental and political change.”
