New Music Friday and we have 10 great singles that have been released today.
1. Boy In Space – Sucker Punch
Boy In Space released his debut EP ‘FRONTYARD’ last month, and it has already exceeded the landmark of 4.7 million streams, with another 900,000 views of its accompanying music videos, over 500,000 of which were for ‘Remember Me’. It’s an exciting addition to a career that has already hit a career total of 170 million streams, and shows no sign of slowing down. The Swedish leftfield pop innovator is set to keep fans’ interest at fever pitch, as he today shares the video for the EP’s current single ‘Sucker Punch’.
The ‘Sucker Punch’ video parodies the EP’s concept, which is a collection of songs about relatable, everyday stories that Boy In Space is comfortable with sharing with the outside world. While the ‘Sucker Punch’ lyrics are about a near universal experience, the video’s story is more surreal than you’d expect the reality to be.
2. Luke Royalty releases ‘Stay Gold’
Following the release of his raw and honest BBC Introducing Track Of The Week, ‘I Do’, at the top of the year, rising UK artist Luke Royalty returns with his sun-drenched new single, ‘Stay Gold’. The track is out now on Soul Kitchen Recordings.
Produced alongside Neverbloom and long-time collaborator Bob Mackenzie at Motor Museum studios in Liverpool, ‘Stay Gold’ sees Luke set the scene for the summer with the tracks laid back vibe and luscious tones. “It’s a summer song about making the most of the good times while they last,” Luke said of the track. Made for long evenings and tinnies in the park, the track is ready to soundtrack summer 2021!
3. The Calls release new track ‘Way Far Out’
Leeds trio THE CALLS have released their new single and video, WAY FAR OUT, the first track to be taken from their forthcoming EP due to be released later this year.
The single is far from a conventional introduction to the next phase in the band’s progression, but one of the band’s strengths is that they rarely if ever play it by the book. “I suppose it’s a statement of defiance against the traditional music industry,” vocalist and songwriter Tom Fuller explains. “Why does a single need to follow their rules?”
Elaborating further about the song, Tom explains: “We were trying to make a song with a mood that made the listener feel like they were in the desert, hence the aesthetic of the video. The psychedelic sounds intend to recreate that sense of hallucination and heat exhaustion, with the lyrics focusing on introspective feelings of guilt that cycle around; feelings of guilt and sorrow that can leave someone feeling as if they are stranded alone, far away.”
4. Girli releases her brand new hit ‘More Than A Friend’
London-born songstress GIRLI has today released her brand new single, More Than A Friend. The heart-wrenchingly honest track showcases GIRLI’s signature richly-hued soaring vocals, and culminates in an anthemic chorus. Listen here. The official music video co-directed by GIRLI herself, will premiere later today on YouTube at 6pm BST, here.
GIRLI has said of the track, “I wrote this song about crushing hard on a girl who didn’t want me back. It’s about the sexual frustration of wanting someone so bad but knowing they just don’t like you like that. Falling for your friend can happen to anyone, but I think it’s a feeling that is particularly poignant to queer people; falling for a friend who perhaps isn’t the same sexual orientation as you and not being able to express those feelings for fear of being judged or losing that friendship. It’s sticky.”
Earlier this year saw GIRLI release her Ex Talk EP, which has racked up a whopping 1.3+ million combined audio streams, and 300k+ combined video streams. This 5-track body of work is the follow up to GIRLI’s highly regarded debut, Odd One Out. The 9-track album which was released in 2019, garnered support from tastemakers such as the Guardian, Clash, DIY and more.
5. MØ releases new single ‘Live To Survive’
Pop megastar MØ makes her triumphant return with new single ‘Live To Survive’ out now on RCA. Listen here: https://mo.lnk.to/
‘Live to Survive’ is the first solo outing from the Danish popstar since her critically acclaimed album Forever Neverland and it’s a collaboration with breakout producer SG Lewis (Dua Lipa, Victoria Monet, Robyn) and co-written with Caroline Ailin (Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding). Between the three of them they’ve created a track with all the components of a euphoric, empowering anthem – an exhilarating bassline with hope-filled lyrics that are sure to usher us into summer.
Shot in the British countryside and working with director Joanna Nordahl (Four Tet, Tove Stryke, Say Lou Lou) the breathtaking video sees MØ take on the character of Ophelia and introduces some of MØ’s concepts for her highly anticipated new album: rebirth, transformation, acceptance and strength.
6. Sophie and the Giants – Don’t ask me to change
Sheffield based alt-pop stars, Sophie and the Giants have returned with their impassioned new single ‘Don’t Ask Me To Change’, out now on EMI Records.
The song is an atmospheric, hook-laden synth anthem. Sophie’s crystalline vocal soars over a bedrock of tom-tom drums, augmented backing vocals and a driving bassline to create a defiant anthem of personal autonomy.
“I wrote this song at a time when I was at a crossroads and examining my relationships with people” Sophies explains. “Every time I discovered something new about myself, I’d feel the compulsion to repress it slightly and minimise my true self to avoid being judged or losing people. I wrote ‘Don’t Ask Me To Change’ when I finally decided “fuck that”, because if they really loved me I wouldn’t have to make those compromises.”
The band recently performed a stunning set for Mahogany Sessions at the Albion rooms in Margate. You can watch the beautiful stripped back performances here
‘Don’t Ask Me To Change’ follows their recent single ‘Right Now’, and their mega-hit collaboration with Purple Dsco Machine, Hypnotized. Clocking up 4-times platinum status in Italy, platinum in Poland & gold across a further 7 countries in Europe,’ Hypnotiozed’ has been streamed a staggering 200 million times, the video viewed 65 million times on YouTube, and it hit 2 in the European Airplay Charts. In the UK it was championed by the likes of Annie Mac, Jack Saunders and MistaJam.
For Sophie, the experience of becoming a bona fide pop star in Europe while being in the middle of a lockdown was a surreal one. One minute she’s in her flat in Sheffield, the next she’s landing in Italy to perform for Power Hits Estate 2020 in an empty Coliseum.
7. #SAVEOURVENUES 18 Artists including Zuzu and Lottery Winners sing ‘All Together Now’
It was always music or football for street kids aiming high and now, as the fabric of music in the UK remains under threat, new mega-group, ARTISTS UNITED COLLECTIVE, featuring artists such as Zuzu, Trampolene and The Crooks, stamp their collective feet with a collaborative, fundraising cover of The Farm’s 1991 hit, All Together Now. Released TODAY, just a fortnight before Turkey and Italy kick-off the delayed Euro 2021 competition in Rome, artists and organisers hope the emotive cover finds the passion of the terraces and raises vital funds for the UK’s suffering live venue community.
Woven indelibly into the fabric of UK chart-indie, the emotionally-charged All Together Now was originally released in November 1990, drawn from the Liverpool six-piece’s chart-topping album, Spartacus and reached No.4 in the UK Singles Chart. The new version, also featuring the first artist to hit the top of the UK Folk Chart and Liverpool storyteller, Jamie Webster alongside indie rabble-rousers Rats, The Royston Club and Shambolics, was specially recorded at a time of rising optimism that the nation’s live music venues could be open and on their way to recovery. Each artist has pledged their time and energies to raise money for the survival of an industry that has given them their voices.
8. Welshy latest banger ‘All For You’ out now
There’s no letting up as Welshy today shares his follow-up single ‘All For You’. Listen HERE. Welshy aga
Welshy had created a demo of ‘All For You’ back in October, but felt it needed some English language vocals to help bring the story behind ‘Ka Moun Kè’ to life. And so he enlisted SHELLS and co-writer/co-producer Neave Applebaum (Joel Corry’s ‘Head & Heart’ and ‘BED’) as collaborators for his first ever Zoom session.
“I was so nervous, but the guys are amazingly talented, so much fun and easy to work with,” says Welshy. “My fondest memory was after Sarah (SHELLS) suggested we take a break for an hour. I was gobsmacked when I came back, as the vocals Sarah had recorded were everything I imagined that the song should be. From there everything fell into place and it was an absolute delight to work on. This track means the world to me as I’ve been given so much creative freedom”.
9. Alok and Bloodline team up with The Vamps
Leading on from their epic collaboration, ‘All The Lies’, that eclipsed over 100 million Spotify streams and Top 10 airplay across the globe, ALOK and The Vamps reunite once again with family duo BLOODLINE for the stirring, emotive ‘Another You’.
As a merger that crosses a multitude of genres, from ALOK’s deeper dance soundscapes, over to the vocals of The Vamps that stir and fortify the release with a rapturous element, BLOODLINE bring in their trademark elements of raw-meets-rock-influenced atmospherics that intertwine, as one, with a slick finish. As the vocals “If you’re not the one/ I’ll find me another you” tell the tale, synth lines swell as hi-hats simmer like molten oil in a hot pan, building tension and suspense before breaking down into a full-bodied, deep-dive of classy, darker house. Radio-ready, yet unique in its originality thanks to each artists’ input, ‘Another You’ is set to alight the ensuing Spring and Summer months!
‘Another You’ comes at a time for the collective trio of acts when their careers and accolades speak for themselves; take ALOK, South America’s biggest dance artist that recently surpassed 3 billion solo artist streams, over to The Vamps also skyrocketing to 4 billion streams respectively, becoming the first band to headline London’s epic o2 Arena five years in a row as one of the largest UK pop acts in recent memory.
10. Jess Bays releases dance hit ‘Every Single Time’
Defected resident Jess Bays has remixed Irish dance music breakout star Bissett’s hit single ‘Every Single Time’, out now.
Characterised by a stunning tropical percussion breakdown, the Jess Bays remix of ‘Every Single Time’ sees the UK DJ and producer deliver a grooving rework that loses none of the club-ready dancefloor energy that makes the original so special. A certified smash, the original has racked up 5.6 million Spotify streams and 677,000 Soundcloud plays respectively.
Plying his trade in the Irish club scene since the tender age of 14, Bissett has DJ’d across the country and beyond, performing at Mass Festival, The Grand Social, SIN and many more. On the production front, he has released a steady stream of dancefloor heat over the past few years, on labels such as Sinister Sounds, 13 Records and Let There Be House. More recently he was handpicked to become the training camp DJ of UFC icon and fellow Dubliner Conor McGregor.
Tipped by DJ Mag as ‘one to watch’, Jess Bays has previously shared DJ booths with the likes of MK, Hannah Wants and Derrick Carter, performed at esteemed venues such as XOYO, Ministry of Sound and the Warehouse Project, and released music on Simma Black, Glasgow Underground, Armada and more.
A killer rework, Jess Bays delivers a stunning reimagining of ‘Every Single Time’ while staying true to the original’s infectious energy.
