Sanny Veloo isn’t buying it, Cheikh Kane sees the sights, Melkior shines, Nana Lukezo makes her point 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, settle in for another trip around the musical world:
Sanny Veloo | I Don’t Believe The Truth
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Driven by a duty to spread uplifting messages through rock music, Sanny Veloo is on a mission to reinforce love, chasing dreams and keeping it real. His music merges modern alt-rock with the passageways of classic rock arrangements and melodious guitar solos, twisted up in high-octane ferocity. Originally from Singapore, the Australian singer and guitarist has just released his new single I Don’t Believe The Truth. Politically charged but tinged with a glimmer of optimism, the song is this year’s anthem for anyone who’s been let down by their governments and the media. Politically charged but tinged with a glimmer of optimism, I Don’t Believe The Truth is this year’s anthem for anyone who’s been let down by their governments and the media.”
Cheikh Kane | Yaama
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: World.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Cheikh Kane is a musician and press man from Senegal. Founder of Maack, which is a press group and the first Senegalese radio broadcasting from Europe, he lived for a long time in Italy, where his media is based. Between 2008 and 2013, he became known as a well-known chronicler of the Senegalese diaspora.”
Melkior | Glistenin’
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: R&B / Soul.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Sicilian-born, Sydney-raised R&B singer-songwriter Melkior shares glimpses of his reality through memories and storytelling, utilizing his lush lyrical and vocal precision to hit that tender spot you didn’t know existed. Migrating to Sydney at a young age, Melkior mixes Italian passion with poetic and conversational yet grown lyrics, silky emotional vocals, and diverse melodies that organically impact the listener, giving off a mix of Michael Jackson, Usher and The Weeknd, with the attitude of old-school Drake. Glistenin’ is a love story told through soft vocals, a funky bass line, and nostalgic conversational lyrics. A story that really happened, This track embodiment of organic R&B.”
Nana Lukezo | Ma Référence
HOME BASE: Belgium.
GENRE: World.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Nana Lukezo is a singer with a charming voice who has been able to absorb different musical trends. Author, composer, performer, she has matured her talent within multiple gospel choirs. She is also characterized by her commitment to humanitarian causes. Lukezo is the president of the platform TFAM: All Women With Me, which works on the unity of women who want to promote the gospel and push women towards excellence.”
Pain Behavior | Tear Me Down / Wicked Hole (Kid Moxie Remix)
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Synth-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Pain Behavior, pka Enrique Hernandez, was born in Spanish Harlem, N.Y.C. and now resides in the Silver Lake area of L.A. Prior to COVID they performed regularly at LGBTQ, activist, “safe-space” and art spaces. At live shows, Hernandez uses movement as well as symbolic set design, costumes, and lights to express his personal journey as a survivor. Enrique creates each of their projects as an event with a unique video, group of songs, dance movements and color scheme. “This is a return to the dance floor,” they say. “Tear Me Down seems to describe a particular state of being desperate moments of desire and earning for comfort.”
Metò | 1000 Times
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Metò is a Quebec City multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and producer who moves through a multitude of tones and textures in his compositions. From his bedroom and a friend’s basement, he organically sewed a tunic of sound to produce his first EP Alstroemeria. An emotional rollercoaster, a whirlwind of feelings, it’s hard to better define Metò’s new single. It has a folk-pop vibe, high-pitched vocals, and electro-acoustic textures worthy of the best of Bon Iver. It is modern folk in its purest form.”
Stokoff | Never Enough
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Latin Country.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “My name is Octavio Stokoff. I am a singer-songwriter from Colombia. I live in Nashville, and my genre is Latin Country. My new song Never Enough is a happy, fun love song with a Latin touch.”
Paupière | New Balance
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Now led by Julia Daigle (visual artist) and Pierre-Luc Bégin (Polipe, We Are Wolves), Paupière are a glamorous and flamboyant duo from Montreal with an underground sensuality that creates pop music that is both naïve and profound. In Paupière, there is “skin” (peau) and “stone” (pierre), the organic and the mineral, sensitivity and hardness. There is also the word “pop.” Their writing services the melody, offering us songs filled with these catchy little phrases that turn and turn in our heads until they’re fully anchored in our memories. Mixing English synth-pop and French chanson, the “neo-romantic” duo lets us hear echoes of Human League, Deux or Depeche Mode in their work. Their intertwined voices sing the adolescent and hedonistic romanticism of the ’80s as much as our contemporary disenchantment.”
Isambourg | Faire Fondre (Live Collection)
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “The voice of a generation that wants to dream, Isambourg is a 25-year-old French singer-songwriter and performer. Originally from the North of France, he grew up in Mauritius, where he discovered new musical influences. He reveals a poetic and luminous universe with pop-folk accents, which meets the influences of Léo Ferré and Charlotte Cardin. His musical projects have matured along the French west coast and Mauritian beaches, leading the listener to the open sea, as with this delightful live version of Faire Fondre.”
The Carrie Armitage Quartet | Ambient Orbit
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Jazz.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “With great pleasure, we’re announcing the launch of The Carrie Armitage Quartet – B Side recording sessions! I’m thrilled and grateful to report that our July release of A Side has been very well received, playlisted and featured internationally on independent music blogs and webzines. Just getting started we were asked to keep up the momentum, so here we go! This first track we’re sharing, Ambient Orbit, is a sister track to our most popular Orbit L2 from A Side. For this variation we inverted the progression from as a starting point. Where we landed is somewhere quite different. Trippy video included too!”
https://youtu.be/CvBYgAiURwI
Jé Lalune | Voudrais-tu Qu’on Se Parle
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Jé Lalune — aka Jérôme Duchaine — is a singer-songwriter from Lac-Saint-Jean. Having evolved through various musical projects for years, he recently decided to deliver a more personal project to the public, in a retro-rock style that he particularly likes. Jé Lalune today takes us headfirst into the heart of a drifting relationship, delivering the intimate and personal Voudrais-tu Qu’on Se Parle. Taken from his eponymous album and directly inspired by a personal relationship, the song is an icebreaker coming to smash against the indecipherable Morse code of love.”
Foray | Les Remparts
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Indie-Rock.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “To climb Les Remparts of Foray is to contemplate the world with all its damage. “I’ve always kept a few glimmers in my songs,he says. “I don’t leave much hope there anymore.” Indeed, Les Remparts is the reflection of a burning topicality through conflicts, climatic and economic crises … As humans turn into “birds of prey”, there is nothing left to do but wait for “night to come upon the world.” Les Remparts is a short breath away. There is intense tension throughout this heady track. It is supported by rhythmic pop, tribal percussion, guitar and synth, samples, incisive writing and urgent singing. The clip, with apocalyptic atmospheres, illustrates the text with the same power. Directed by Alexis Delahaye, it mixes archive images of wars, exile and surveillance cameras.”
Eze Francis | My City
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Covid slowed things up, so I’m just releasing this video! Hope you enjoy.”
Jack West | Finer + 21
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “More favorites of mine off of my new album Numb.”
Inbal Paz | Fine Line
HOME BASE: Israel.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Inbal Paz recorded her first jazz covers album Sunrise at 21 and toured it throughout Israel. That’s when she realized that her true passion lies in performing, crafting her music, and teaching others to find their own unique sound. Inbal delivers outstanding vocal ability which creates a haunting and magical atmosphere.”
Fuzayen | Quit
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Indie-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am Fuzayen, a 34-year-old independant artist in Dunkirk. I am in recording process of my first LP. Quit is strong rock song.”
Jacques Barrette | Cigar, Whisky And Woman
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Jazz.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am a self-taught musician and composer. I compose for my wife Élise. What she can no longer see with her eyes, she can hear. On the unnamed street, in a semi-basement, we discover a very old club. It’s full to bursting. It smells of cigars, whiskey and women’s perfume. The smoke is dense, so dense that you can barely see the pianist. The musical atmosphere cements everything.”
https://youtu.be/4CFIiigroa0
Cache Candy | Univers
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “We would like you to discover our new clip from the single Univers. This song is heavy with meaning for us because it talks about the message we want to convey with Cache Candy. We all have a particular desire — finding a dream job, going on a trip to a destination that is dear to us, meeting the love of our life… This song is about the fact that life is too short to settle for something average or passable. We are here to fulfil ourselves, to be as happy as possible. This is what we believe in and we hope that this song can carry the message in you and that you can receive it in the best way.”
Kardada | BLU Kalifornia
HOME BASE: Italy / Switzerland.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Kardada is a Swiss-Italian synth-pop duo, consisting of singer-songwriter Iris Moné and producer Kandrax. California’s sky is blue. Especially when you are a foreigner who migrated there and you struggle to find your place. But as we say in Italian, when you are on the dance floor, you have to dance.”
Dan Lupo | No Matter What
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: R&B / Soul.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “This song is from an EP I released some time ago.”
Marlon Cherry | You Are The Best (The PGB & Buster-T U.K. Remix)
HOME BASE: South Africa.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Marlon Cherry is a singer/songwriter who has been breaking it down with many a band in his lifetime, from South Africa to the U.K., Italy and Brazil. Marlon’s single doing the rounds at the moment is You Are The Best, written about a lady with whom he spent time while on tour in Italy. Stick with us while we go on this journey of blissfully groovy, soulful and uplifting music.”
Zhiyi Wang | Where The Heart Is
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am an award-winning composer for contemporary classical and film genres. it is my pleasure to share with you an instrumental piece. It has a lyrical melody, presented in a duet of violin and cello, with a delicately orchestral interweaving.”
Dez Boheme | Home To That Place
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Indie-Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Dez Boheme is a Kiwi-American singer-songwriter and producer in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. His musical influences range from early rock ‘n’ roll to contemporary hit songs from all genres. Born Anton Desmond Ryan in New Zealand, he was previously known as emerging neo-folk artist Anton Ryan in the early 2000s. During Covid he started recording and producing music out of his home studio, The Alcove Room. Home To That Place revisits a place of solace and resolve after the kind of emotional rollercoaster ride one is sometimes pulled into with relationships.”
Daddy Funk | 140
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Drum & Bass.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Daddy Funk is Simon Greenhill, a musical artist from the U.K. He has four albums — Super Human, Bird Tribe Earthfire, Groove Loop and Emotional Intelligence? — 35 tracks recorded over the course of 17 years. “I am a pro drummer, songwriter, singer and producer,” he says. “This Drum & Bass single is a small part of my catalogue.”
Fabien Oustry | Paris 13
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Fabien — and author, composer and performer from Sète — has just released his first album. Histoires De Vie features true and well-written songs on strong themes that affect everyone — divorce, love, disability. Paris 13 is a tribute to the victims of the Bataclan.”
Backwater Township | Gesalul
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Jazz.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Backwater Township aren’t a band, they’re a collective of misfits and outliers pushing their way into the jazz scene. Backwater Township recorded their first self-titled EP in 2018 and are preparing their new album — Backwater Township II — for an October release. Gesalul is a Mi’gmaq word which translates to love in English. This song is an exploration of that feeling. Gesalul’s melody is layered by saxophone and voice to create a sound that boarders on spiritual and secular music. The music was recorded at Alchemist Studio in Montreal.”
Killian Caputo | White Scars
HOME BASE: Switzerland.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Born in Switzerland, I started playing drums at the age of 9 in 2010 before moving to piano in 2017. I am currently studying music in order to be able to live from my passion. As my first instrument was drums, I wanted to show the power of the percussion, but also bring an electro beat to keep the dancing side! This track features encouraging and positive lyrics with a question-and-answer lyric between the lead and backing vocals.”
Vincent Bugozi | Bossa Nova
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: World-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Vincent Bugozi is an African artist based in London. He aims to combine different cultures, connect people through music, and help bring positivity and unity. He and his band combine Afrobeat, reggae, Afro-Cuban and pop. Telling us about an Afro-Spanish señorita called Fatuma who has a unique ability to make people dance to bossa nova, Vincent Bugozi makes everyone dance on his latest single.”
Russell Louder | Come Around
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Russell Louder is a songwriter, producer and performer who was born and raised in P.E.I. and currently pays rent in Montreal. Their music is carried by a powerful clear voice reminiscent of Florence and the Machine, Eurythmics and La Roux. You only have to see Russell Louder in concert once to fall for the luminous and authentic world they’ve built — both poignant and danceable. In 2021, Russell released their debut album Humor. Their new single Come Around is a pop sharp-tongued symphonic play-by-play of a “duplicitous figure” in the life of the artist who dragged him into a web of lies. It was mixed by Cian Riordan (St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey, Paul McCartney).”
Actrese | Vivid But Vague
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Actrese is an aspiring singer-songwriter based in London. She may be a newcomer to the music scene, but her unique, ambient alt-pop sounds and her aura of authenticity have a compelling power to magnetise the audience. Vivid But Vague, her unapologetic new single, features ambient pads, melodic bass and bendy guitar that help her voice take flight. It was produced by William Baxter at Ten87 Studios. “You are in a secret crypt-like club, you have already heard Ben Howard and Jessie Ware play their acoustic sets,” they say. “That’s when you hear Vivid But Vague. You’re into a conversation with a mysterious, intriguing man, the crowd chatter is loud and you gradually begin to hear a gentle, anxious voice. Just when you think it’s ended, the song transforms into a different shape. Heavy, rough around the edges, although full of potential, contradiction and soul. It might have been a dream. You’ve experienced it. It’s all that matters.”
Gracie Jean | Romance Is Bad
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Gracie Jean is a storyteller, artist, nature lover and Christian with a lot of feelings. Romance Is Bad is the title track of her new album. Compared to artists such as Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves, Gracie Jean shares raw, honest and melancholic lyrics, fused with uplifting and inspiring melodies and harmonies, to paint a holistic picture of human emotion. “I really wanted to convey the idea that it’s OK to feel sad, and to voice that sadness,” she says. “I think often people tend to try and avoid all sad feelings. We put on masks and we ‘switch off’ the sadness when we interact with one another. I just wanted to make an album on songs where I said exactly what was on my mind. I want these songs to inspire vulnerability in others.”
BlueMelt | Glass Towers
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Prog-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “BlueMelt is a rock music project fronted by London guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Vito Tardia (aka Ragman), former member of the power metal band Pandaemonium. BlueMelt’s music was initially conceived as instrumental, with classic blues-based guitar melodies supported by bold modern industrial drums and bass. It then developed into a mix of both instrumental and vocal-based music, with grungy vocals layered on top of a contemporary solid hard rock foundation, occasionally dipping into electronic music. This track was inspired by the (mis)adventures of fake heiress Anna Delvey in New York.”
Bea Box | Le Vol Des Oies
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Pop.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Bea Box is a singer, songwriter and music producer. She studied traditional percussion and took vocal training with various grandmasters. She has used stays in Cuba, India and the U.S. to train in diverse rhythmic cultures. Her mastery of different percussions, coupled with her unique voice and her handling of electronics, make her music captivating. “Le Vol Des Oies is the second single from my forthcoming album Lotus,” she says. “It’s an indie pop song in which I question my choices, our choices, our convictions, and our aspiration to become more free.”
Mass Experience | Pleasure And Purge
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “They met 25 years ago, their desire fused by a love of emerging technologies and the explosion of dance music that blew their young indie-music minds. They have have not stopped creating since. Drawing on the vast history of musical influences inspiring them over the years, they recently formed Mass Experience, with the vision of energising people around the world to live authentic lives motivated by passion and love — and to get up and dance!”
William Is | Grow Crazy
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Indie-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “William Is is the new incarnation of Chicago recording artist William Steffey. His music production career began at the age of 11 when he received a Tascam multitrack cassette recorder as a gift from his father, a music industry sales rep. In 2021, after releasing 16 albums in the art-rock style, he sealed the lid on his 200 plus-song catalog with the swan song Sparkle. Grow Crazy is his latest single. “The greatest tool is the most powerful weapon.”
Ninjahtiger | Inner Tiger Dub
HOME BASE: Belgium.
GENRE: Dubstep.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am a composer, drummer, singer and sometimes scratch DJ from Antwerp who loves to create music that submerges you into a different realm. For me this track has nice drive, as it is a dark dub(step) style tune made to make you move. As a producer I am working more and more towards this style. I try to get better at the sound design, mixing and mastering every time i make a new song. My aim is to go on tour one day and play on a massive sound system for people to dance to. This might sound far from the original genre of reggae, but this is what inspires my music.”
Keith Mosfet | The Things You Do In The Morning
HOME BASE: Netherlands.
GENRE: Folk-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian artist Keith Mosfet has been on a journey of self-discovery through traveling countries, and learning from new cultures. Now calling Amsterdam home, he is the definition of an artist. Using inspiration from impressionist oil paintings and combining his background in electronic engineering, Keith took on the challenge of writing, recording and mixing his whole catalog music. “This song is about waking up on those lazy mornings with your loved one — taking your time getting out of bed, cuddling and taking your day slowly,” he says. “I feel the shared comfort of your bed is a universal feeling.”
Dalton 149 | Better
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Just a song about how I b feeling and shit fuk paying bills fr tho and going to work shit is whack asf.”
