Tison Duni shows some courage, Sahara Beck stays still, Malvill really, really loves you, Puzzle Boy catches fireflies 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) follow me on Spotify HERE, check out my Top 200 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, enjoy these excellent offerings:
Tison Duni | The Quiet Courage of Those Left at Home
HOME BASE: Sweden.
GENRE: Prog-rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Tison Duni became interested in the guitar as a teenager via Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian and Kee Marcello. Duni’s music often revolves around capturing or amplifying a certain feeling or story. His music varies from slow and drowsy to hysterically fast, from fateful neoclassical to easygoing major songs. In the pandemic years, Duni released several songs as singles. Contemporary musical inspiration comes from Ennio Morricone, the Knopfler brothers, Viv Campbell and Dalmatian klapa music, among others. This song is a tribute to people who have waited, especially in dark and hard times in history. A tribute to people who have waited for news from their beloved ones; waited for the rain, or for the rain to stop; waited for spare parts; waited for liberation, etc.”
Sahara Beck | Stillness
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Queensland’s Sahara Beck is known for having one a powerful voice. As a songwriter, she had multiple placings in the International Songwriting Competition, as well as Nashville’s Unsigned Only Competition, and in 2019 she placed in the Top 3 in the illustrious Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition. She has won numerous Queensland Music Awards as well as the Carol Lloyd Award, affording Sahara the opportunity to record an album with Konstantin Kersting (Mallrat, Tones and I, The Jungle Giants). A slow-churning, hypnotic alt-pop song, Stillness documents Sahara’s struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. The purpose of the song is to bring people comfort and release.”
Malvill | J’Aurais Jamais Cru Autant T’Aimer
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Indie-Pop.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I offer this song although I am aware that it probably does not have a ‘radiophonic’ format — but as my grandmother said: ‘Nothing ventured … ”
Puzzle Boy | Lucioles
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Puzzle Boy are a trio from Rennes, France, composed of Maxime Pouteau (vocals, guitar, programming), Jonathan Reig (guitar, bass, vocals) and Florent Gross (piano, synths, vocals). Their music oscillates between pop, post-rock and electro. Their album How Are You was released in April, after more than two years in the making. This album was entirely auto-produced and mixed in the band’s home studio. The album is about mental journeys — good and bad — that we create to compensate for lacks in our lives. The narrative follows the wanderings of the protagonist who gets lost with his thoughts, struggling to discern what is real and what is fantasized. Tracks vary between saddness, melancholy, euphoria and onirism.”
Kriss The Sky | Dirty Games
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Hard Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Kriss The Sky, a multi-genre project, is the brainchild of Kristina Gasparic-Block. As the songwriter, vocalist, keyboardist, and rhythm guitarist, Kristina fuels her music with dramatic vocals, piano-keyboard orchestrations, and entertaining stage performances while her bandmates complement and support her various styles. Working under the name Sonic Orchid, Kristina released two albums of original music in the hard-rock genre and toured Western Canada. As Kriss The Sky, Kristina records her original works as a solo artist as well as with her bandmates and other talented musicians. With the union between Kristina’s piano/keyboard orchestrations and her various voices, Kristina’s music touches upon many levels and is touted as a new multi-genre alt-rock.”
Ezra Brooks | Leaving
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Ezra Books is an artist exploring his own sonic vision, drawing inspiration from the classic rock of bands like Queen and Fleetwood Mac or the more contemporary pop of Harry Styles. Either way, his sound feels completely authentic and he knows how to hook you in. Ezra is always working on a project, whether it’s his music or a previously released short doc about his path as an artist. Expect more singles from Ezra in the coming months and a full 13-song album in the future. “This upcoming 13-track album will be the proudest thing I have yet to release. As for the music, I never stop writing and creating,” Ezra says. “Once this album is done, we move on to the next one. We keep exploring our sound and bring something completely different to the table.”
Christophe Lorient | Notre Jardin Secret
HOME BASE: Belgium.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Christophe Lorient is a Belgian singer-songwriter. He has collaborated with the songwriter Eric Abraham and producer Plastic Bertrand. “Here is now my brand new single Notre Jardin Secret,” he says. “Always with my emotions and my sensitivity, I now take you to an intimate place. “It is not always necessary to go far to find yourself and share a pleasant moment with a loved one.”
Markko | By My Side
HOME BASE: Brazil.
GENRE: Indie-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am a Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer. My project consists of alt-rock and indie-pop songs. I want my art to reach more people.”
June 6xteen | Ruined My Life
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: R&B / Soul.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Ruined My Life is the very first single of my solo career. It is also the first of five songs which will be on an EP to come at the beginning of autumn.”
Dafné Kritharas | Avre Tu Puerta Serrada
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Dafné Kritharas’s inspiration lies at the crossroads of the Eastern and Western worlds. She sings in Greek, French, Bosnian, Spanish and Turkish, attuned with the discoveries and travels she shares with her partner, guitarist and songwriter Paul Barreyre. The album Djoyas De Mar features 12 tracks, including seven in Greek and five in Judeo-Spanish. With their mixed influence, these songs are linked to the experience of exile and uprooting. Most musical arrangements are by pianist, improviser and composer Camille El Bacha. Naghib Shanbehzadeh, the young prodigy of Oriental percussion, has added his personal touch to the album.”
Mélodie | Jump
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “My song will give pleasure and joy to the world.”
Graffiti Welfare | Just Follow
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Psychedelia.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “My name is George Lattimore. I live in Denver, and I love recording and mixing electronic psych pop. I grew up listening to The Beach Boys, and devouring any genre of music I could find. Eventually, I found Animal Collective, Tame Impala, Radiohead, Brian Eno, Miles Davis, etc. I loved it all and wanted to create my own. Just Follow is my second single: A firework exploding above a red-carpet psych pop chill ride, propelled forward by unraveling synths, psych lead guitar and deep vocal hooks. Album: Featuring my late Mema and oldest brother on the cover, Revolving Shores materialized as a kind of creative therapy for anxiety, loss, and finishing grad school. From ambient to electronic, from minimalistic pop to experimental psychedelic, headphones can explore the shores of the subconscious. Who knows where you’ll wake up next?”
Lonasona | Seher
HOME BASE: Switzerland.
GENRE: Pop-rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Turkish duo Lonasona, founded by Kaan Türkyılmaz and Mustafa (Uğur) Kaya, produces dance and electro pop music with an enriching accompaniment of acoustic elements. Their style is open-hearted and emotional with danceable and positive vibes. Lonasona’s melodic songs have a unique sound with reminiscences of synthwave upon a diverse palette of influences from ’80s pop, funk and disco. This instrumental indie electronica track is about the spring of love, with a cool D’Angelico Guitar solo and positive back vocals on top of powerful indie drums. It has a very positive and uplifting mood that invites listeners to dance. Seher gives the feeling of walking in the air, being young again and hope.”
Pierre Tardiveau | Waves
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Based in Paris, Pierre Tardiveau is an independent 31-year-old pianist. He began his musical career on bass guitar and keyboards with the band Divine Paiste, which later became Dissident, then accompanied various artists on stage and on recording sessions. After more than 250 shows in France and Europe, two LPs and six EPs, he decided to return to the piano. Very influenced by jazz and soul music, he tries his hand at the neo-classic style. Waves is a melancholic song. Like a series of waves, this piano piece illustrates the soft and continuous movement of clouds transported by the wind. It refers to the passing time and to different stages of life. It’s the first song of a debut solo project.”
Joolia | Phoenix (ft. Beverly Pills)
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Electro-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m Joolia, a producer and DJ, based in Miami. This is my new track in collaboration with electronic pop project Beverly Pills. We could have released this single on a big label, but we decided to stay independent.”
Makon Cyclo | Maria
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Maria is probably the sound I’m most proud of on this EP. It was the first one I wrote. No filtered emotion; sadness, anger and loneliness, everything is written as it is felt. It gives a theme to the EP, but above all it allows me to confide quite deeply in a rather gloomy universe where feelings seem intertwined, confused; and above all it gives a reason for remorse.”
The Independent Sound | I Feel Like I’m Missing
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “The Independent Sound is meant to be heard, not seen. The Independent Sound is the stage, not the star. This music is what feelings sound like. Sometimes it’s subtle. Sometimes it rages. Sometimes the variations converge into something that drives you forward or even holds you close. This music contains every memory from your past and even some for your future. The dynamics ebb and flow in cycles that can be comforting, exciting, disturbing, and peaceful — just like life can be. The Independent Sound is a Canadian inventor, technical designer, composer, arranger, prodigious drummer and multi-instrumentalist, poet, scenographer, pattern engineer, applied mathematician, systems engineer, and autodidactic polymath. Throughout their music career, they’ve placed a heavy emphasis on collaboration with other artists, lending the definitive style of The Independent Sound to a diverse roster of collaborators as well as solo works.”
Organic Mood | Midnight
HOME BASE: Ukraine.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Organic electronica perfect for Burning Man lovers.”
Malone | Envol 2 (ft. Jessie K)
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rap.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Mixing, sharing, love: Three words to define Malone’s music. Imbued with spirituality and literary references, his lyrics convey positive values. Partly introspective, his music transcribes his evolution as a man: Each of his projects reflects a change or a progression in his life, his relationship with others, his perception of things. Malone has performed alongside Disiz, Rocé, Youssou N’Dour, Amadou & Mariam, Dilated Peoples, Eloquence, Souleymane Diamanka.”
https://soundcloud.com/malone-officiel/malone-envol-2-feat-jessie-k-version-promotionnelle/s-PtobtcJ9JeS?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Dr. KK | Radiation
HOME BASE: United Staes.
GENRE: World.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Dr. KK is an American musician, songwriter, spiritualist and entrepreneur. Kindly check out my song Radiation, composed in English and West African Pidgin English.”
Jo Majesty | I Got The Juice
HOME BASE: United States
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I Got the Juice is the second official single from recording artist Jo Majesty.”
Nasmore | Safe In My Dreams
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “It was early in 2021 when Nasmore chose to turn his wildest dreams into his daily reality. Like a great many artists, Nasmore grew up attached to his stereo and instruments. Deciding at the very start of his career to keep his options open to every opportunity in effort to create music unlike any other, the spectacular versatility of Nasmore’s sound knows of no limitations. As hauntingly beautiful as it is surreal, Safe In My Dreams brilliantly captures the evocative feelings of losing those we hold close and the icy cold contrast of what life is like alone in the aftermath. Travelling like a ghost viewing his life from a distance, Safe In My Dreams takes listeners on a journey through what could have been but now will never be. With a fantastic guitar aura created by Neil Taylor, led by the sensationally soulful sound of Eastern-European guest-star Miuccia’s vocals, they breathe life into the wisps of memories from Nasmore’s past and brings every syllable to life with the remarkable depth of her tone, range, and technique.”
Ascidzz | Goddess
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I care a lot about the music I make, and thus I care about how it’s presented to the world. Sometimes I get so excited I want to show you what I’m working on, but my own “What if?” voices cause delays sometimes. This mixtape is personal, and I know that many of my listeners rock with me because they understand what I’m saying, and can relate. To finally give my audience something that they can have and won’t be yanked away from me at some point has relinquished that power from me. This is phase one. My name is Despues, I invite you to a sound called Ascidzz. I’m taking my music as far as I can, I just need help pushing it to the next level, because I know this is what people want to hear. A core value of my brand is that songwriters are the future, and I advocate for truth and transparency in our expressions. I am about love.”
