Louis the Child – Better Not (feat. Wafia)

Finally! Louis The Child is back with a new awesome track and it features Wafia! A very impressive collaboration indeed. The drop of the song is super good mixing a beat that sounds instrumental but also electronic.

Grade:
Lyrics: 4.5/5
Beat: 5/5
Album Art: 4/5
Overall Music: 5/5

It’s a comeback for both artist!
Last favorite tracks from them are:
Louis the Child – Love is Alive
Wafia – 83 Days

 

Follow this playlist for more tracks like this

https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/thejasonman/playlist/7euWn2K0KCVtq0mADsLLVp

Lewis Capaldi – Rush ft Jessie Reyez

I still vividly remember the first time I discovered Bruises by Lewis Capaldi. I became an instant fan. Every song he released from that EP then stuck on me, especially Fade and Mercy. With how Spotify, Youtube and Facebook helps push new artists on the wave plus of course the artist and his team’s hard work, it wasn’t surprising that he would end up being nominated for the BBC Sound of 2018 List. On the other hand, Jessie Reyez went up my radar when she was featured on Calvin Harris’s track Hard to Love.

The pair brought a new kind of mix especially with these new generation of sound. Capaldi’s dark voice will haunt you from the very first word that he sings then Jessie Reyez’s voice who seemed like only fit for R&B pop came out so powerful but mellow at the same time. When they sing the chorus together,it’s just surreal!

Check out my playlist Late Night Blues 2 for more tracks like this.

Rex Orange County – BBC Sound of 2018

Congratulations to Rex Orange County for getting 2nd place in the annual BBC Sound of 2018.  Recent winners include Rag’N’Bone Man (2017) and Jack Garrett (2016) plus Sigrid (2018). Congratulations to Sigrid to. We’ve been following her tracks since she released that catchy Don’t Kill My Vibe track. But going back to our man Rex! It’s been a blast for him actually 2017. His Uno song was featured in blogs then followed by my favorite single Best Friend.

Just when we thought we heard everything from him, He releases his super mellow track Untitled which just shows diversity. His last releases before the year end was his single Loving is Easy (His most radio friendly yet, An Awesome Track!) and album Apricot Princess. The album feels like this modern but old hipster album which is evident through his use of lots of instruments and storytelling. I think this is one of those albums that you really have to listen from the start as it feels like you’re going into Rex’s journey to Happiness and Love.

Loving is Easy is featured in my An Awesome Wave playlist. Check it out below!

https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/thejasonman/playlist/6ZJ11MWRmhluymmqOMNWUz

Noah Kahan – Hallelujah EP

It wasn’t just long ago when we featured Noah Kahan in our blog. His first track Young Blood was so damn relatable that it gave us chills! -Oh Dear, I’m sorry that you grew up so soon, Cold beer, no high school parties, I’ve been drinking alone…. – And it’s actually the top track on my spotify for 2017 followed by the great Aquilo band.

If you haven’t listened to his EP yet, make sure to check it out now. This EP is entitled Hurt Somebody which is the track he released a few months back. It’s his most radio friendly one I think as this is the track the most of my friends know from him. You get a bonus collaboration with the same track featuring Julia Michaels which is a surprise. No one expected this. Julia Michaels rose to fame last year as well with her Issues track. Is this a sign of more collabs? That’d be great for sure!

Our favorite track of the EP is Please. It has that same lost in the world folky vibe like Young Blood.

Linus Hablot – Just Call

It’s been a while since we have discovered an artist of this kind of level. His track “Just Call” gives me Tom Misch vibes when we first found his tracks online. Linus who’s based in Singapore has been busy in US to produce new music. (Bandwagon, 2016) His first EP “Coming Down” was released last year with our favorite track “Gone”. Just Call is a more upbeat track showing us how promising this act would be. He’s one of the New Kids on the Block to watch this year. Follow my playlist to see more of our picks.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/thejasonman/playlist/6ZJ11MWRmhluymmqOMNWUz

Khalid – American Teen

18 yr old Khalid was featured on pigeonsandplanes.com on their Daily Discovery feed. He describes his own music as mood music, but he doesn’t like to stick to a genre. Of all the tracks he released so far, this one hits the gold for me. American Teen has this really great intro especially when the instrumentals start going around 5 seconds of the tune. Took me just one listen to get addicted to this track with its good vibes. Just like the last track I featured “Noah Kahan’s Young Blood”, Khalid’s lyrics also feature personal experiences in his youth. Cheers to this guy making it big with this track!

Louis the Child – Love is Alive

Billboard.com describes “Love is Alive” as a soft and soothing with rolling bass and hefty though sparring drums song. I couldn’t agree more! This song just takes you back to those sunny road trips  with your friends. Elohim joined the whole process writing and collaborating as well. One of my friends introduced her music to me last week. It’s always awesome when acts collaborate with potential future acts. Most end up with awesome hits, like music babies.

Love is Alive based on their soundcloud would be featured as one of the Ultra Music songs. A follow-up to their It’s Strange ft K Flay which also made it to the Ultra 2016 album.

Maggie Rogers – On + Off

Ever since that viral video when Pharrell met her at the NYU studio because of their professor’s idea, she goes on to impress us still to this day. Releasing “Alaska” as an official single afterwards, it instantly hit the radios and playlists. Dog Years I’d say was a track I got right away. The mellow vibes and lyrics bring you close to her. With this new song however, she takes us to yet another different sound without sacrificing her songwriting showing us that she’s definitely deserving of that BBC Sound of 2017 nomination. When is she gonna release an album?

 

Noah Kahan – Young Blood

Came across this track when I was browsing through my music blogs. I actually almost missed it the first time. Then that same night, Young the Giant shared the track on facebook saying their pal has released this awesome new one. Turns out they’re both under the same label.

The way the artist is able to share his personal struggles and at the same time is able to reach out to us. How the track and the beat progresses is also awesome! His 20 right now, feeling lost, unsure if he made the right decision during the process of his writing on Young Blood.

I believe he’s an Artist to Watch this year as after listening to one track, we’re left wanting an album. There is potential here, there is talent. After doing a quick research, I found through musicinjectionwordpress that this artist was signed to Lorde’s producer. No wonder!

Check out my other picks this January/February

Photo from MusicInjection

Sigma – Find Me ft Birdy – Stranger Things’ Eleven

I usually look forward to Sigma’s collaborations because they always seem to have an element of surprise, from upcoming talents such as  Jacob Banks and Maverick Sabre to hitmakers such as Rita Ora, These Days, and Ella Henderson. There’s something in common with these guys,  their voices are unique and nothing but ordinary. Birdy’s voice is one of those too. First made noise when she started covering tracks then collaborating with the likes of Ryan Tedder for her first album, she is one of a kind.

Any fans of Stranger Things? Me, my siblings and a couple of friends got addicted to this new netflix show few months back and couldn’t stop talking about it for weeks. Can’t get over the fact that the adventure of these kids got us on the edge of our seats. Good news is that there’s a second season. Anyway, check out Eleven’s awesome acting and “singing” for the video.