Premiere: James — Colleagues

Hailing from Stockholm, Colleagues formed in 2012 and proceeded to release a number of singles and EPs in the subsequent decade. Having picked up radio play in their native Sweden, and on BlackPlastic, they became known for their dreamy Scandinavian pop sound.

Here, ten-years on, Colleagues’ sound is darker, and influenced by the diverse musical paths of the group’s members. Taking in sounds as disparate as neoclassical and minimal pop, the sound we get here on James is modern and emotive. Opening with 80s-style electronic bass notes and ambient-sounding synths, layered vocals weave a hushed melody before giving way to a stark, clean-and-modern falsetto chorus. That chorus switches out the playful bass for a series of sharp lines, delivered in the form of crisp, melodic synth stabs.

The contrasting sounds in James are a pleasure to experience, the song switching gears on the fly and keeping the listener guessing as the two distinct sounds blend in the closing third. Clocking in under three-minutes long, I wish there was a bit more — I find myself hitting play as soon as it finishes, almost to check what I heard is still really there… But isn’t that a great place to leave a listener, wanting more, somewhat disbelieving what they heard?

James itself is a song about caught the moment before a relationship ends — both looking back and looking forward. Opening with the lines, “Stay here, take your time, I won’t let you down, your heartbeat next to mine”, there is a moment of clarity evoked in these lyrics. Taking a moment to appreciate what has been, before moving on. The band note the duality in the production is deliberate, containing “a touch of nostalgia in the bass line but a beat that strives to move forward”.

Check out James below, and look out for a debut album in early 2023.

Premiere: Good Luck Charm — Ray Rhemey

Good Luck Charm is the debut single from new female and best friend duo Ray Rhemey. Pronounced Ray Ra-may, the pair channel a joyful and energetic 90s-influenced blend of pop, soul, and R&B funk — something they have playfully labelled Pop&B Funk.

Ray Rhemay’s sound is familiar, and yet it feels fresh — acid-funk melodies and bubbling bass make a warm instrumental backing for fun, infectious vocals. Together, the artists TaRhea and Vilda Ray are looking to create music “untainted by strict structure, only guided by what’s essential to move you physically and emotionally”.

Produced by Jay Cass and Zyodara, Good Luck Charm depicts a form of unrequited love, when someone takes the lessons they learned by receiving your love, only to apply them to someone new. The lyrics themselves, and the subject of the song, could be interpreted as sad. Yet, Good Luck Charm is delivered with a sense of acceptance and determination — the result is both empowering, and uplifting.

Check out Good Luck Charm below:

Premiere: Outskirts — Elhel

Elhel is the musical stage name of Argentinian musician and producer Yamil Eljel. Having originally started performing in Spanish, Yamil switched to producing English language music in 2019.

Having signed with Dance Cry Dance towards the end of 2021, Elhel has been working on a forthcoming EP. Outskirts is the first track to be released from that EP, and it seeks to capture the joy of connection and freedom that many of us experience in the summers of our youth.

Opening with analogue synths and a broad, hollow-feeling bass line, Outskirts feels wonderfully nostalgic from the get go. Elhel finds inspiration in the sounds and images in 1980s cinema — something you can both hear and see in the video for Outskirts. The lyrics have a beautiful innocence to them from the first line:

“We live on the outskirts, a quiet place. I love taking pictures of your face.”

And then the chorus drops, and it feels like the rush of your favourite person squeezing your hand. Yamil’s vocal starts to erupt, his real emotions fully on display as he cries out, “Sometimes we take our car, and drive it, at full speed”. And as the layered melodies soar, you feel a moment of recognition — for just a moment, you can exist inside the connection Elhel feels with the other passenger in that car.

Check out Outskirts below:

Premiere: Agnostic — Katmaz

Gently wandering Rhodes, crisp drums and Katmaz’s distinctive falsetto form the central-core of his new single Agnostic. Thick and heavy bass grounds a song that otherwise looks to the heavens in search of meaning. Layered vocals combine to give the piece the feeling of an internal monologue — less of a conversation and more of a spiritual experience.

Perhaps deliberately, Agnostic initially sounds like it is a love song, the repeated refrain of “She’s always on my mind” could be a loved up tribute of yearning. In reality, the “she” referenced in the song’s central lyric is representative of a higher power, a perhaps inquisitive yearning in its own right, given the song’s title.

Hailing from Buffalo, NY, but now based in Los Angeles, Katmaz, real name Matthew Kaz, is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer. Having originally debuted with a cinematic indie folk on his EP Nautical Things, back in 2016, he has since expanded his palette to incorporate more electronic and pop elements.

During the summer of 2020, Kaz went on a spiritual journey in a van, travelling the US with a reduced version of his home studio alongside him. The trip saw him get up close to nature, coming face-to-face with a grizzly bear and experiencing the nearby sounds of wolves from within his van. The spiritual-yet-earthy experience infects Katmaz’s forthcoming album, Tell Me How Great You Are, which he recorded just outside of Joshua Tree National Park with childhood friend and producer Savings. Check out Agnostic below, and look out for Tell Me How Great You Are in September 2022.

Premiere: Cursed — Cloud Pham

Hailing from Canada, Cloud Pham is focused on creating mood-driven melancholic music that blends together indie pop and rock elements. Liking themselves to something akin to what Linkin Park would have sounded like if they started as a sad indie band, Cloud Pham’s sound has an intelligence combined with an emotional intensity.

Whilst Cursed maintains the indie sound of Cloud Pham’s earlier work, it also leverages electronic production techniques and broken soul, but applied soulfully and with a delicate touch. The result has a touch of dubstep to it — the vocals all the more lonely as a result of the application of space in the production.

The result is a hypnotic trip into a moment of depression and anxiety. The vocal refrain of, “Baby help me, I am cursed, everything I do just makes things worse” could be melodramatic, yet hits with an earnestness that gives it recognisable humanity. I think many of us have been there — needing someone to reach out and take our hand, so we can emerge for a dark moment. Occasionally, it can be all too easy to dislike oneself, and the only thing that will help is compassion, both from ourselves and from others.

The feeling of guilt persists through Cursed, and is something the artist references in the inspiration for the song:

“Cursed is a song about redemption and forgiveness that is not achievable, no matter how hard you try. It's about holding on to a guilt that never goes away.”

In creating the song, Cloud Pham hopes to learn from past mistakes and to make peace. Listen below: