Welcome back to CelebMix’s New Music Round Up – the last one for February, but it’s a good one!
After a lot of teasing on social media, 5 Seconds of Summer made their incredible comeback this week with ‘Want You Back’. Sigala also released a new single called ‘Lullaby’ which saw him team up with with fabulous Paloma Faith.
Bea Miller released her highly-anticipated album Aurora, whilst Raye delivered the ultimate girl squad single ‘Cigarette’ featuring Mabel and Stefflon Don. Alexandra Burke also made a comeback with ‘Shadow’ taken from her forthcoming album The Truth Is.
Other releases this week came from the likes of PVRIS, Saara Aalto, Ruth Lorenzo, Sam Creighton, Milestones, The Funk Hunters, JES, Joonas Hahmo, and JS16, Someya, Abigail Rose, and Ali Jacko.
As usual, we want to share even more new music with you, as you can never have too much, right? Here’s ten new tracks you need to listen to immediately.
Hanne Leland – ‘Carry On’
‘Carry On’ is the latest single from Norwegian born, London based electro-pop artist Hanne Leland. Speaking about the track, she said: “‘Carry On’ was written in a writing session in LA last year. I wrote the lyrics right after another horrific terror attack had taken place, and I remember having such a difficult time dealing with it, even though I wasn’t personally affected. I didn’t want to dwell on the bad stuff though, so I focused all my energy on creating something positive and powerful, and that’s how ‘Carry On’ came about. It’s an uplifting song about finding the strength to move on with our lives, and stand together in unity and love, despite the chaos around us. It ended up being this really groovy electro-pop song that I hope people with feel inspired by.”
VOID – ‘Ache’
Not much is known about the alternative mellow RnB two-piece VOID, however, what we do know is that they deliver music with a message, and an important one at that. Over the past few months, they have wowed with their poignant covers online whilst creating a community where people can talk and be open about mental health issues. On Friday, they released their debut single ‘Ache’, a beautiful track which is lyrically powerful. The track celebrates and supports those who fought or struggled to survive the day. By openly speaking about a topic which can sometimes be considered a taboo subject, VOID are certainly making a huge step towards the acceptance of mental health issues with their music.
Kiko Bun – The Cubs EP
Following the release of his recent singles ‘Stay Bless’ and ‘Fistful of Nothing’, Kiko Bun has dropped his EP titled The Cubs. Speaking about the EP, he said: “In this EP you’ll hear love songs and stories from my life. Maisie is a girl who I worked opposite to in Soho three years ago and could never tell her how I feel and I still don’t know why. ‘I Always Knew’ is a bitter sweet Rocksteady song I wrote late at night in Shepherd’s Bush and played all instruments on it too! Hope you like it!”
Black Saint featuring Rationale – ‘Ante Up’
Black Saint, made up of Justin Osuji, Jermaine Davis and DJ James, have teamed up with Rationale for their new track, ‘Ante Up’. The track combines an African-electro sound with aspects of hip-hop and house, creating a completely infectious offering. Speaking about the track, Black Saint said: “The song draws on the experience of being in a relationship where you know you’ve messed up, she’s the girl for you, the one that got away. ‘Ante Up’ means to up the stakes and go all in, without holding anything back. The concept for the song came from Rationale’s personal experience.”
Joel Fletcher – ‘Where’s The Love’
‘Where’s The Love’ is the new single from multi-platinum selling DJ and producer Joel Fletcher. Speaking about the track, he said: “When I was touring in Europe recently I did a writing session with Glen Faria who is a super talented singer/songwriter from Amsterdam. I played him a couple of different ideas to work on and we both caught a vibe on this song. We basically wrote the whole
song in a couple of hours which was crazy”.
Francois Klark – ‘Run’
‘Run’ is the new single from Canadian singer-songwriter and producer Francois Klark, and follows on from debut offering ‘Spaceman’. Teamed up with a poignant visual which really hits home the magnitude of the heartbreak felt, Francois said: “It was important for me to not only explore the more painful side of love and relationships, but also to challenge the viewer to evaluate how they perceive the validity of another person’s feelings and emotions. I therefore chose to portray a couple in a relationship that isn’t widely viewed as normal by the majority of society. I want to impress on the viewer that we are all part of the same human experience – The love and heartbreak that you experience is no different, no less real than someone who is different from you. There is validity in the pain and heartache of every human being.”
Zana – ‘Call Ya’
Rising pop songstress Zana bares all in her new single ‘Call Ya’. Written by Zana and produced by Big Len, the song and its video deals with the raw emotion and questions which derive from the ups and downs of relationships. Zana said: “It was such a long process getting ‘Call Ya’ to where it is now but writing this song was a serious wake up call for me in my personal life and my career. I’m hella excited to share this piece of me with everyone and am so grateful to all the lovely people who were a part of it and who helped me get the video’s look and feel exactly to where I wanted.”
VOILÀ – ‘Stand Tall’
‘Stand Tall’ is the poignant new offering from duo VOILÀ, following on from their debut singles ‘Lately’ and ‘Hundredth Second Chance’. The duo describe the track as “one we wrote to try to conceptualise a method of dealing with hardship and pain. Beginning as a letter from a son confronted with the reality of losing their father, it evolved into a self-help anthem. ‘Stand Tall’ is for all of those who need the strength to carry on, the strength to move past what has brought you down, the strength to be strong. You don’t have to stand up to your problems, instead, ‘Stand Tall’ to rise above them.”
Hajk – ‘Untouch’
‘Untouch’ is the new single from Oslo-based band Hajk. Speaking about the track, they said: “This song is about experiencing sudden changes in a relationship – from trusting and depending on each other, to being all alone. Sometimes it will feel so overwhelming that you wish you’d never met in the first place. Or at least you’re wishing that you were able to foresee what was going to happen.”
Cary Brothers – ‘Cool City’
Critically acclaimed musician Cary Brothers has released ‘Cool City’, the first single to be taken from his forthcoming album Bruises, which is due for release on April 27. Speaking about the track, he said: “It’s about getting beaten down and getting back up again. Mostly the getting up part. This song is the musical bridge between what I’ve done before and what interests me now, between youthful choices and the person I’m trying to become. I’m happy to get to the other side of it.”