Jimbo drop in, Speech Ntsa shows you the waye, Rough Grind put things to an end — and help us wrap up 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, double down with these artists:
Jimbo | Dropping Like Flies
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Psychedelic Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Leave it to Jimbo, a psychedelic grunge band from Kingston, to start off 2022 with a devastatingly monstrous rocker. Dropping Like Flies is a heavy, atmospheric burn that speaks of the bleak future many young people face. “Our current system is draining the bright minds of the future and something needs to be done,” Jimbo say. Though they formed at a college in 2018, they wanted to be the antithesis of a college rock band. “We didn’t want to just get drunk and play Mr. Brightside every night. We wanted to play the music that we had written ourselves, that was unique, and was darker and deeper than what was already happening.” Jimbo are dedicated to continuing to stand out from other acts in the scene through their musicianship, style, and songwriting. Dropping Like Flies is the last single from their third EP A Sad Faces, which stands alone as a snapshot and reflection of the dark times we face through the eyes of a generation destined to experience it. “Just hands, guitars, drums, mental illness, and angst — as the devil intended.”
Speech NTSA | Waye
HOME BASE: Martinique.
GENRE: Dancehall.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Speech NTSA, whose real name is Emmanuel Dintimille, is a dancehall reggae artist, beatmaker and producer. He just released his EP 4 REALITY. With a quality visual and a style that sets him apart, Speech NTSA intends to mark his generation. Tired of hearing bad news? This time, with this sublime title, there is enough positivity to eject the negative in kung fu mode with a dancehall atmosphere!”
Rough Grind | Last Thing You’ll Ever Hear
HOME BASE: Finland.
GENRE: Hard Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Dark roasted rock. Served in your face. Intense, intriguing and intoxicating dark roast. Straightforward and strong in character. Powerful tones with rich and robust flavors. Pungent notes of exhaust fumes, burning rubber and unwashed hockey gear. A hint of dust, rust and roadkill. Old school approved. Served black. CAUTION: May contain nuts! Founded in 2011, Rough Grind’s resumé includes three EPs — Son of a Gun (2014), Four For The Road (2017) and Trouble Or Nothing (2018) — and their debut album Pieces Of Resistance was released in 2020. We all must do our part to keep our communities safe from gun violence. This has become a global problem, and governments are not doing enough about it.”
Disparilis | Throughout Shame
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Heavy Metal.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Disparilis is a modern metal band. It’s also my solo project. My last EP was released in December. I will release my next EP in summer.”
Talis | Comme Des Frères
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Talis joined the ranks of the Paris firefighters very early on after starting out as a volunteer firefighter. Confronted very quickly with a harsh reality, he decided to channel his emotions into lyrics. Self-taught, it was during his long evenings on duty in the barracks that he learned to play the guitar. He has worked tirelessly on his voice and his playing to become a confirmed artist. His dark-chic style and his compositions are reminiscent of artists like Johnny Cash or Daft Punk, subtly mixing several styles and eras. Talis is in the process of making her second album.”
Bass Basaula | Posa Ya Motema
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Jazz / World.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Bass Basaula lets his music do the talking.”
Divest | Closer
HOME BASE: Norway.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Fronted by long-time friends, collaborators and songwriting duo Andreas Heinesen Kase and Hans-Ole Sponberg Hansen, Divest released their debut album Time Well Spent in 2020, followed by two EPs in 2021. Their new song Closer is “about how the modern lifestyle is making us more insensitive towards each other, due to the overconsumption of all the high-dopamine goods we have around us at all times,” Hansen says. “The song wasn’t really meant for the band, it was just a fun piano ballad I made one night. I remember Kase coming into the studio, and I said to him ‘Hey, check out this Alicia Keys tune I made.’ We decided to just try it out, and I think it worked out perfectly.”
Altea | Gold
HOME BASE: Spain / France.
GENRE: Soul / R&B
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Spanish singer-songwriter Altea combines different formes of art to design a multifaceted, raw and defined musical experience. Her sound is the definition of the eclecticism. Inspired by the electricity of London, the romance of Spain and her connexion with indigenous traditions, her progressive R&B borrows colours from hip hop, soul, jazz and indie. In her lyrics she tells us stories, from love songs soaked in nostalgia to empowered jams or reflective hymns. “Gold is the first single from my upcoming album to be released this spring,” she says. “The track is a love letter written to today’s society; speaking on the materialism separating us from spirituality and each other. With the soulful guitars and jazz-hop drums, any listener will feel liberated after enjoying this sonic offering.”
Les Bâtards du Nord | Bois D’Poêle
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “We are a folk/traditionnal music band from Quebec, playing since 2010. We are willing to share our music to the international community. We hope you enjoy!”
Peter Lake | Ghosts In Me
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: United States.
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. Lake’s philosophy of music making is that by combining genres, the range of song creation has increased. A song that successfully incorporates and connects the positive aspects of different musical styles has the potential to be more universally appealing than any song in history. Ghosts in Me seeks to capture the essence of loss and grief. The songwriter takes a moment to explore bereavement hallucination, a sensory-specific experience one might feel during the mourning process. As the artist recently said to a disinterested and overworked waitress: “Ghosts in Me still hurts. To me it’s about being sincere. Isn’t it strange that we can love someone so much that even when the object of that love is gone, we don’t give up? It’s irrational. But it’s also what makes us sincere. It’s what makes us human. To love something so much that even when it’s gone we refuse to let it go, we hold on. If anything we love more. Aliens would think our species is crazy.”
Essa Prod | Gate
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Hip-Hop.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Originally from Toulouse and living in Paris, I have been a young beatmaker for four years. I am completely self-taught in my artistic approach as well as my learning of music in general. My first musical influences are hip-hop from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s. Today I thrive in the creation of more modern compositions such as trap, grime, drill, reggaeton and many more.”
Bentley Fresh | Red Styrofoam (ft. MVTTZ)
HOME BASE: Netherlands.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Bentley Fresh is an independent rap artist from the Netherlands formerly known as Young Suspect. Under that name, he worked with influential hip-hop names like Krayzie Bone, Waka Flocka Flame and Twaneé, and was part of the Dubai rap group Custom Made DXB. He claims he got most of his musical influences from Lil Wayne. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the majority of people who discover him say he sounds just alike. “I would like to introduce you to chopped and screwed music, a sub-genre of hip-hop that started in the early ’90s in Houston, and is known for slowing down the tempo and deejaying,” Fresh says. “This musical art piece is the result of an international collaboration.”
Red Grace | Jinn
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Alt-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Fuelled by sultry grooves and old-school rock ’n’ roll, Edmonton’s Red Grace are dropping their latest single. Red Grace take their name from the feeling of every one of their tracks — loud and abrasive (with the recordings usually peaking at the red) but also having moments of sweet graceful reprieve. The bandmember have been playing in various projects since high school, but have always found a way to make music together. The members of Red Grace like to keep it fresh and strive to release a new rock ’n’ roll offering every few months, so keep your ears and eyes peeled.”
GrapeSoda Henderson | Running
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Soul / R&B.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “GrapeSoda Henderson is a rapper, singer and songwriter from Atlanta, known for his R&B and West Coast hip-hop sound. 2022 is on track to be his biggest year yet with more releases, features, and performances than ever before. Grape’s recent, effortless crossover from rap to the radio-ready pop of Running is sure to impress his fan base and bring new fans in a year when optimism will not be taken for granted. Running is a radio-ready, upbeat hip-hop / pop song about a beautiful love interest. Perfect for Valentine’s Day.”
Sophie Gaumont | Anamorphose
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Soul-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “My universe is poetic, sensually funky and intimate pop. I am preparing an album which will be released in 2022.”
https://youtu.be/6T-s3HUb3kA
Nasty Jack | John Crow’s Symphony
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “My track is a 100 bpm, bass-filled, mood-setting rap song written and produced by Nasty Jack. This song is about making every situation stylish, with strings that set the mood of an action movie. John Crow’s Symphony is the second single from the mixtape Jack.”
Blitz Union | S.V.P.D.A.
HOME BASE: Czechia.
GENRE: Hard Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Blitz Union are a furious rock band. They combine melodic pop with hard rock and EDM. Using a blend of heavy guitar riffs, industrial metal overtones and melodic vocals, Blitz Union refuse to be put into a specific genre or category. The band stand for much more than music. The idea of creating an “union,” a community of devoted followers is omnipresent in their music. Blitz Union are about standing together in times of uncertainty, pointing out social, economic and political issues — sometimes seriously and forcefully, sometimes with irony and sarcasm, but never conventionally. There is a thin line between good advice and manipulation. Imposed on us in our childhood, those words of fear and intention later influence and even manipulate life decisions. Spirit. Vision. Power. Desire. Action. A slogan that sums up Blitz Union’s work one last time. This is the essential. A dark ballad which closes the Absolution album, but leaves everything open at the same time.”
G-Erwin Dollar | Tumba (ft. Sajo)
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Dancehall.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “The lack of good music really pushes me. The talent I have is rare, and I would like to make it known to the world.”
Ann | Légère (Remix)
HOME BASE: Belguim.
GENRE: Dance-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “After several experiences as an author-actress with Les filles du Nord and years as a pop culture radio chronicler, Ann returned to her first artistic love: Composing and singing. With her long-time partner Piotr Paluch, she wrote and composed the EPs Chroniques D’Une Vie Urbaine and Boomerang. Légère was released in November and is doing quite well on the radio in Belgium.”
https://soundcloud.com/piotrofficial/legere-remix/s-eXaUU39u58e?si=4474d7cd3ff14363947175d3b6cd6f1b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Melek | Bigeges Bi Jah
HOME BASE: Cameroon.
GENRE: Folk / World.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Melek is a Franco-Cameroonian singer-songwriter. His repertoire is a condensed version of black transatlantic music. From a new era he harmonizes songs, rhythms and melodies of Africa, with elements of jazz, gospel, funk and reggae. The genius of Melek transports you from one corner of Africa to another, from one corner of the world to another, by making you discover an original interpretation of the songs in a style until then unknown.”
Le Vieux Feu | Des Idées Au Gramme
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Experimental
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Domestic or wild animal? I’m Le Vieux Feu, multi-instrumentalist singer, and I’d rather wear a tweed three-piece in the middle of a wheat field, and in a very old pair of jeans for a social gathering in town. Nonchalance can be a combat sport. Anger and love too. My tastes and influences are so eclectic that they can give you the opportunity to reconsider certain listening habits. I don’t respect the conventions and customs of the music business. I write in French and compose in English (I arrange everything with my little hands, all alone, in my modest and obsolete home studio). You can say that Le Vieux Feu is closer to The Black Keys, Lalo Schifrin, Beck and Gainsbourg, than French singers. Forget about references, influences and too much information. Drop the prejudices and listen to the crackling!”
