De Ghost shares his memories, Jamie Backlight saves the world, Alvin Chris makes no excuses, Chung is ready to pop — and there’s plenty more where they came from in today’s submissions from Groover, a platform that connects artists with critics like me for a small fee. You can (and should) follow me on Spotify HERE, check out my Top 150 playlist HERE, or 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, go HERE. But first, introduce yourself to these artists:
De Ghost | Memories
HOME BASE: Switzerland.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “De Ghost is the new electronica project of Swiss producer Sknail. De Ghost’s sound is a clever mix of rhythmic glitch sometimes coupled with D&B beats, deep bass and atmospheric pads. His music, with its sober and minimalist aesthetic, evokes a near future in which the ultimate luxury will be silence, freshness and purity. Music and visuals are intimately linked and function as a metaphor to orient the listener towards the music, giving him tracks for listening, reflection or introspection. Memories is the focus track of the album Luxe, released on Oct. 1. Voices from the distant past make occasional appearances in this track.”
Jamie Backlight | Save The World
HOME BASE: Belgium.
GENRE: Indie Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Don’t you wanna save the world ? Make the difference, just act!”
Alvin Chris | Pas D’Excuses
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rap.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “It is through his nonchalance that Alvin Chris unveils his analysis of the modern world. It sheds light on the hypocrisy of propriety, the superficiality of the digital age or the fear of the gaze of others. On Pas D’Excuses he showcases his talent with a keen sense of melody, perfectly mastered vocals and a punchy flow. “One day a friend advised me to (re) read Antoine de St-Exupéry’s Little Prince,” he says. “It was nice to find a story I discovered as a child, but to take a whole new look at it. In this book, the little prince describes the adult world with a lot of naivety at first glance. Then, we realize the depth of his words. Reading the book directly inspired me with the song. What if the truth was hidden in the simplest observations? I fight every day to achieve my dreams, believe in myself and quite simply be happy. Happiness is ours, and we have no excuses not to achieve it. Whenever you doubt it, maybe just listen to our inner child, he has more answers than you can imagine.”
Chung | Next To Pop
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Soul/R&B.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Chung makes music you can vibe to. Bars, soul and a few gems for you to live with. Raised in an Anglophone enclave in Montreal, she adopted her stage name from the Street Fighter character, a nod to her facial features as well as her interest in martial arts. Chung started writing at a young age and began her journey as a recording artist with her former group Low Key Ent., later collaborating with established local acts such as Nov, Boy6lue, VNCE Carter, YosoNova and Nicholas Craven. As she’s climbed the ranks, she’s caught the attention of industry heavyweights Conway and Roc Marciano by way of her witty pen game. Chung is set to release her debut EP with veteran producer Cotola (Agua Negra, Obia Le Chef, M.A.V.), a project that promises a combination of street narratives from a rude gal’s perspective with raw, soulful dramatic beats.”
Fleur AsiArtist | Pour Que Tu M’Aimes
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Experimental.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m a self-taught singer. I have done everything and I do everything by myself, by ear. So yeah, it’s not perfect and I’m trying to make it as good as possible. And I’m always looking to improve myself.”
Nasty Geographic | Karma
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Soul-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am a solo singer-songwriter under the alias Nasty Geographic. I’ve released a few singles off my 10th studio album Bomb. Karma is one of them.”
Clintiss | Toreador
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Clintiss creates rich, rhythmic piano music, full of reliefs and variations. A French-Canadian artist, he grew up and studied in France, then settled in Canada in 2012. “For me,” explains Clintiss, “composing a piano solo piece is the fruit of a long journey and a lot of hard work … My personal challenge was to create a piano language that I couldn’t manage to find or hear anywhere else, a fusion between the demanding classical technique and the different musical repertoires that have influenced me over the years — classical, symphonic, pop, electronic music … I hope to have succeeded in developing something unique, sometimes a little peculiar, straddling several worlds. His new single Toreador offers a sumptuous lyrical flight and a whirlwind of feelings. More and more anxious about the state of the world, climate change, political threats, wars and future in general, we are like toreadors in their arenas. Immobilized by our legitimate sense of powerlessness, we close our eyes and immerse ourselves in a virtual world so that we no longer see the bulls — knowing, however, that they will eventually charge us. A vision of staggering and tragic beauty. Toreador is the soundtrack of the matador in his arena: scared but shining with a thousand lights, running towards his downfall but more magnificent than ever.”
Juan Tavano | I’ve Been So Down
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: R&B.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m a singer from Italy. I try to make my own genre by combining the ones I prefer! I love to create new melodies and types of music. This song represents a journey — it has no chorus, but a beginning and an ending.”
Yuman ZavX One | Promesses
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Awaken and reveal the people for peace — true peace — and its solutions. Coconut kisses.”
Brent Thompson | Breakfast Blues
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Blues.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Brent Thompson is an independent Canadian multi-instrumentalist, writer, composer, producer in the blues/Americana genre.”
Electric Neon Clouds | One Heartbeat Away
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “After having performed more than 350 shows all across Canada, Jeremy Cornellier was reborn in 2018 under the essence of Electric Neon Clouds, his artistic alter-ego. The universe of Electric Neon Clouds is both eccentric and highly polished, much like haute couture of music. The project definitely finds its place in the art-pop trend. In a never-ending creative process, Electric Neon Clouds already has a full album ready to be released.”
RougeGorgeRouge | Disappear
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Indie Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “RougeGorgeRouge was born in Bordeaux at the beginning of 2011. In 2013, they released their first album Froast, with tracks ranging from noise to pop, post-rock to math-rock. The second album Hypersomnia was released in 2016, followed by 2018’s NaSH. After a period of stand-by due to the pandemic, the group reunited in their studio in the spring of 2020 to quickly record a new album. The songs are more direct and sometimes noisy, while maintaining a strong pop side and psyche. The succinctly titled album 4 was released on Oct. 1. There is no way for RougeGorgeRouge to stay in one place. The group navigate instinctively, creating emotions through electrical tension and a real search for good sound and rhythm.”
Peter Lake | Red EP
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Indie Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Peter Lake is a New York City singer-songwriter who revels in anonymity. His musical influences include Curtis Mayfield, Motown, Billie Eilish and Rüfüs Du Sol. Therefore, it’s no surprise that he has not stuck to one genre, dabbling in rock, pop, indie, and house. Red, his second EP to be released this year, consists of three tracks written by the artist around the theme of love. Inspired by a story told to the artist in confidence, Pour Your Lies centers on the cause and effects lying has on others and on oneself. Something we all have struggled with at some point, Lake sings about the internal dilemma of managing a web of lies for a greater purpose. The second track and first single Whistle highlights the simplistic aspects of romantic love. Inspired by Otis Redding’s classic (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay, Lake conveys and recreates similar sentiments in this bluesy emotional track. The third and final single We Got That, captures genuine all-encompassing love. Understanding that love is “all we have,” Lake sings, “the power of love is acknowledging that whatever is lost can be found.”
Pib | Ride The Stars
HOME BASE: Spain.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Julien Muller suffers from a disorder called misophonia, a rarely diagnosed but common neuropsychic disorder, characterized by very unpleasant reactions to specific sounds. Since adolescence, this disorder has gradually excluded him from social situations. Listening to music helps him escape the noises and negative reactions that are increasingly difficult for him to manage. Almost 10 hours of musical listening per day have allowed the artist to develop his musical ear while arousing his technical curiosity. He has studied the workings of the music industry, composition — more specifically the electronic universe. “Ride the Stars is a song that I wrote as a hommage for Rocky, my 10-year-old Rottweiler that left us last July. He was a fabulous friend and I had to explain to my three-year-old son Pablo where he went as he is not at home anymore. I told him he left for “Le Grand Voyage” and he is currently riding the stars, where he can run again (he had a big lymphoma on his back leg and couldn’t walk properly at the end). Now, each time Pablo sees the stars at night, he talks about Rocky in a happy manner, imaging him running fast and playing with other dogs there.”
Lil Rose TFB | Nothing Personal
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Lil Rose TFB is a young rapper from Montreal. He knows how to stand out from others by his music diversity, which encompasses pop and rock to hard, cloud and sad rap. He knows how to bring the listeners into his universe. “This song is the opposite of a love song at first,” he says. “I say that I don’t want love and relationships and just act selfish, but it turns into a love song after I realize that I don’t want to act like that anymore. It’s a really emotional song that is the beginning of a new phase in my music style.”
Calista Garcia | After You’re Gone
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “This is a song about loss and love. It’s about how when we lose the ones we love, they’re never truly lost, because the impact they’ve had on our lives keeps going and going. It’s easy to underestimate just how much our presence shapes the lives of those around us.”
Den Paq | Earthquake
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Instrumental Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Hey you! You are afraid of me now. I am the Earth and you can’t destroy me. And now it’s time to pay the price.”
