Within the endless current of new music, it’s difficult for anyone to keep up with all that’s coming out. To combat this ongoing influx of sound, we publish our “Best New Artists of the Month” articles in the hopes that you never miss out on the outstanding new artists emerging in recent times. [do action="sub-heading" title="Friends In Paris"/] For the past three weeks, there's been one song we've played and enjoyed more than any other, and that's the debut track, "Waiting" from UK/Australia duo Friends In Paris. It's not often we find ourselves so enamoured by newcomers, but what they created on their debut has us calling the pair one of the more promising ones we've heard this year. With hulking electronic, pitch-shifted vocal samples, and a monumental chorus, Friends In Paris push way beyond their weight class with "Waiting", alluding to a kind of blossoming promise that's sure to elicit more material like the massively addicting effort. And while the track is the only one the duo has released thus far, we absolutely cannot wait to see what next they create. - written by Chad Hillard [do action="big-player-soundcloud" thepostid="55186" artist="Friends In Paris" title="Waiting" id="149074886" link="http://soundcloud.com/friends-in-paris/waiting2"/] [do action="sub-heading" title="ELEL"/] It’s very rare for a song from a brand-new artist to shoot straight to the top of our charts, but the Nashville octet, ELEL, accomplished this great feat with their debut release, “40 Watt”. The work of “world-pop” combines steel drums, organ chords, and fresh percussion to create a genuinely unique effort that you can vibe to unrestrictedly, and the vocals (explosive in the chorus), gently ebb and flow throughout the verses, with instrumentation acting accordingly around them. The crisp percussion (fueled by stomps and claps), contributes a fresh feel to the track, while all of the eclectic instruments provide one unique sound, allowing “40 Watt” to be an ideal depiction of the aforementioned “world-pop”. Although “40 Watt” is the group’s first release, they’re already set up with a website and every major social media site there is, a fact that leads us to believe that it won’t be too long until we see ELEL follow up their stunning first release. - written by Cole Ryan [do action="big-player-soundcloud" thepostid="55303" artist="ELEL" title="40 Watt" id="149501501" link="http://soundcloud.com/el-el-3/40-watt"/] [do action="sub-heading" title="Dawn Golden"/] With a voice that would give Chris Martin himself a run for his money, Dawn Golden has succeeded in creating a world where beautiful melancholy reigns supreme, where the music ebbs and flows in an endless cycle of finessed intros, sweeping choruses, and masterful transitions. His debut album, Still Life, was released to massive amounts of fan support and critical acclaim, and while it didn't represent Dawn Golden's first rodeo when it comes to making good music, you can bet that the new project of his is some of his best work to date. Good music is always available somewhere, but great music is hard to find, and the singer-producer seems to have found a way to make it in abundance. As a recent signee to Diplo's Mad Decent label, Dawn Golden is proving that there is a big demand for high quality tunes in almost every circle, and when you factor in the organic support he's already received since the release of "All I Want", it's looking more and more probable by this point that he's going to be the next big thing. - written by Chris Danks [do action="big-player-server" thepostid="54731" artist="Dawn Golden " title="Discolouration" filelink="/hd_uploads/songs/Discolouration.mp3"/] [do action="big-player-server" thepostid="54731" artist="Dawn Golden " title="I Won't Bend" filelink="/hd_uploads/songs/I wont bend.mp3"/] [do action="sub-heading" title="Mexico City Blondes"/] Mexico City Blondes is an "album-length collaboration" between Allison Thompson and Greg Doscher, but if all the artistry goes as well as we think it can, then hopefully they might have a good reason to continue the partnership for future projects as well. We featured their first single, "Fade", here a couple weeks ago, and the bare-bones indie-pop track promptly rocketed to the top of the Hype Machine charts and into the collective consciousness of the blog world. Their music isn't too flashy, MCB's isn't, and it's not trying to win you over with tricks or complex production work, but what it will do is connect with you on a very basic level that most songs just seem to neglect. Their music is honest, well-made, and supremely creative, so be on the lookout for more great songs in the near future from them. We have it on good authority that their forthcoming work will be just as stellar as "Fade", so make sure these two are on firmly implanted onto your radar. - written by Chris Danks [do action="big-player-soundcloud" thepostid="56736" artist="Mexico City Blondes" title="Fade" id="149006828" link="http://soundcloud.com/mexico-city-blondes/fade"/] [do action="sub-heading" title="Tep No"/] Tep No came out of nowhere this month with his surprise hit "Promises", and while this isn't the mysterious figure's first foray into songwriting and production, his work under the new moniker is most assuredly going to provide him with that coveted "big break". There are plenty of DJs and producers out there who can make great dance tunes, but every once in a while you get a talented name that can weave together singing, songwriting, and sound-crafting together into one cohesive package, and when they can do it well, the end result is gold. Tep No has what it takes to be this kind of artist, and we will be watching closely as he continues to develop. - written by Chris Danks [do action="big-player-soundcloud" thepostid="56630" artist="Tep No" title="Promises" id="149411152" link="http://soundcloud.com/tepno/promises"/] [do action="sub-heading" title="Olivver"/] Technically, Olivver isn’t new, since we’ve heard plenty of his prior work with The Neighbourhood; however, he’s left the group and now has given himself complete control over his work, with fantastic results to boot. His second-ever release, “Attica 71”, displays stripped-down creativity within all of its aspects, from the minimal, powerful percussion, to Olivver’s unique vocals. The chorus is infectious, with smooth electric guitar bursts and a subtle bassline, leaving you in anticipation of more similar-sounding work. So, if you were confused when The Neighbourhood announced the departure of their drummer, Bryan Sammis (Olivver), you needn’t worry any longer, because he’s back with a project that we’re ecstatic to hear more from. - written by Cole Ryan [do action="big-player-soundcloud" thepostid="54174" artist="Olivver" title="Attica 71" id="147142496" link="http://soundcloud.com/olivver-1/attica-71"/] [do action="sub-heading" title="Brika"/] Where do we begin with Brika? The newfound singer-songwriter, a signee to Miami's upcoming Art House Records, has only a pair of tracks to her name, but between the two, she's shown a kind of promise seldom seen from an artist in the infantile stages of their career. With "Expectations" especially, we're treated to a kind of Lorde-Adele hybrid sound, one with catchiness in its veins, incredible calmness in its lungs, and boldness all over its artistic body. To be sure, the vocal inflection in Brika's possesstion (easily her most striking characteristic as a singer-songwriter) is something embarrassingly rich; it's luxuriant to the point that she doesn't have to try to hard to be impressive-sounding, and that's just something increasingly uncommon in these hyper-fabricated days of music-making. Her election to do away with auto-tune for her work is further validity of her lovable organic roots, and really, there's just not anything missing from the Miami-native's repertoire of sound. Her star-to-be status is one creeping closer to just "star", and her passionate intention to be her own artistic boss (rather than relying heavily on outside music personnel), is all the reason we need to believe that Brika will be tearing up the charts come a year or two's time. - written by Taylor Rummel [do action="big-player-soundcloud" thepostid="55521" artist="Brika " title="Expectations" id="146131610" link="http://soundcloud.com/brikamusic/expectations"/] [do action="sub-heading" title="Voyageur"/] This past May, we saw the emergence of VOYAGEUR, a London-based singer whose sound we compared to a combination of John Newman and Diplo; and if that statement alone doesn’t grab your attention, then his incredible debut release, “Tear My Heart Out”, will. The first minute of the piece is nothing more than VOYAGEUR’s soulful vocals over some heartfelt piano chords, but a little over that one-minute mark, and an absolutely massive, totally unexpected drop ushers in a wave of heavy bass, vocal chops, and electronic bits. After hearing the song once, the beginning segment will have you on the edge of your seat in anticipation of the floor-shaking drop. “I Don’t Want You (But I Don’t Want Anyone Else To Want You)” was released along with the aforementioned track, and while it doesn’t have the same enticing electronic drop as the first, it still serves as an excellent demonstration of VOYAGEUR’s vocal prowess. And while we're not quite sure what VOYAGEUR's next move will be, we're willing to be that it'll be an exciting, so make sure you’re keeping an eye and an ear out for him and all his future endeavors. - written by Cole Ryan [do action="big-player-soundcloud" thepostid="55606" artist="V O Y A G E U R" title="Tear My Heart Out" id="149460949" link="http://soundcloud.com/voyageurtv/tear-my-heart-out"/] [do action="big-player-soundcloud" thepostid="55606" artist="V O Y A G E U R" title="I Don't Want You (But I Don't Want Anyone Else To Want You)" id="149465035" link="http://soundcloud.com/voyageurtv/i-dont-want-you-but-i-dont-want-anyone-else-to-want-you"/]
Best New Artists of the Month