Soulful duo Nick Green and Dave Rosser have certainly made a good first impression with the lead single from their upcoming debut album XXX. The slow and sensual R&B of ‘Oxygen’ has an irresistible appeal. The silky smooth soul and the layered electronics come together to create something both soothing and passionate. Depending on your mood it works perfectly as both ambient easy listening and for something a bit more hot-blooded and impassioned. These L.A. lads have a track that is immaculately produced and have emerged into the limelight with a hit in the making. If it’s single is anything to go by then this double act’s debut is definitely something to look forward to.
top tracks
Top Tracks: Samm Henshaw – Our Love
The winner of Belwood Music’s inaugural Spotlight! award for best new artist is back with his latest single. The minimal rhythm and blues of ‘Our Love’ is another infectious feel good hit for Britain’s best new up and coming soul man. Paired with the video which shows off his energy and enthusiasm as he performs with his band, Samm is on to another winner. ‘Our Love’ is the first track from his upcoming EP The Sound Experiment 2 which is out 15th July. If the first experiment is anything to go by then it is a date worth jotting down.
Top Tracks: Joshua Luke Smith – Carry Me
This young wordsmith carries a message that transcends borders and genres. A passionate poet, accomplished producer and philosophy graduate, Joshua has battled through adversity but has refused to let anything hold him back. His story is reflected in his latest single ‘Carry Me’, that no matter how hard things get there is always a way back home. That the people who care about you are the pillars that hold you up above the darkness, and we each have more strength within ourselves that we realise. With such striking lines as “I didn’t come to preach I came to release cages” Joshua has wisdom far beyond his years and his way with words has made him an increasingly inspirational voice. His music is moving and heartfelt and definitely something that the world needs more of.
Top Tracks: Radiohead – Burn The Witch
The most hotly anticipated album of the year is another step closer as Radiohead have released the first single off their as yet untitled ninth album. ‘Burn The Witch’ opts for a mesmerising yet sinister orchestral sound which is a marked departure from the electronica of their previous album The King of Limbs. The music video features a stop-motion retelling of The Wicker Man. Prior to it’s release the band teased fans with snippets of the video, leaflets in the post, and by deleting content from their social media. Only time will tell if the album lives up to expectations.
Top Tracks: Mumford & Sons, Baaba Maal, The Very Best and Beatenberg – There Will Be Time
Having already broken away from their folk origins and ventured into indie rock for their latest album Wilder Mind, Mumford & Sons are continuing their search for new sounds. Conceived on their sell-out tour of South Africa the band have collaborated with Senegalese singer/songwriter Baaba Maal, London based DJ duo The Very Best and South African pop group Beatenberg. The coming together of artists from such different backgrounds to work together unreservedly is really heart warming. The different styles integrate perfectly and evoke an unbridled sense of energy, unity and joy in what they have created. The collaboration’s EP Johannesburg, which was recorded in just two days, is released 17th June.
Top Tracks: Tina Refsnes – Alaska
This latest single from one of Belwood’s Spotlight artists is a tranquil tune brimming with love and longing. All about trying to find somewhere with the solitude and landscape akin to her native Norway, ‘Alaska’ is the kind of song that leaves you wanting to bask in it’s warm glow and forget all the troubles in the world. The childlike doodles of the animated music video somehow match perfectly with the poignant Americana, like a bittersweet yearning for an innocence lost. The latest single from her debut album No One Knows That You’re Lost, ‘Alaska’ is the latest step towards Tina Refsnes becoming one of the most profound and moving singer-songwriters of recent years.
Top Tracks: Jenny Gillespie – Dhyana By The River
We have all had our own little dream world at some point. A place that is bizarre and ungoverned but also feels safe and familiar. American songwriter Jenny Gillespie captures that feeling in sound form. Her latest single ‘Dhyana By The River’ from her new album Cure For Dreaming is a mystifying baroque pop song with eccentric hints of everything from folk and jazz to prog and opera. Throw in a voice on par with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush and the end result is a romantic and spiritual alternative pop tune that simply makes time stand still. Her gentle balladry sounds like the soundtrack to another world, one far more emotional and mystifying.
Her latest album ‘Cure For Dreaming’ is out 13th May
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