For fans of Wallows, The Killers, Vampire Weekend, New Jersey-raised, Brooklyn-based trio The Happy Fits release new single ‘Dance Alone’. The track arose from the many lonely nights spent in lockdown during the pandemic, and how isolation has turned us all shy. The band make uplifting indie-pop bangers with some of the catchiest hooks around, successfully combining sincere, thoughtful lyricism with a youthful sound fit for the indie-disco, and one that translates into a lively live show. After regularly performing DIY basement shows, the band are currently on a huge 20-date US headline tour, recently stopping off at Los Angeles world famous The Troubadour venue. Confidentially, next week they’ll be announcing a UK tour for the autumn, including dates at Colours, Hoxton in London. The Happy Fits have over 1 million TikTok followers, and the same amount of monthly listeners on Spotify. They’ve had praise from the likes of NPR, Alternative Press, Wonderland and American Songwriter, and Billboard placed them at #4 on their New Alternative Artists list! What sets The Happy Fits apart sonically from other artists in the genre is their inclusion of the cello, which they often use instead of a bass. Band member Calvin Langman is dedicated in fitting classical cello into rock music – “it’s tuned in fifths so it’s the perfect power chord instrument”.
For fans of Bon Iver, Norwgian singer-songwriter/producer releases his full-length album Shapeshifter including new single ‘Arms Around Me’. Shapeshifter is a massive project and collection of Gundelach’s newest exploratory songs. The album is released in part as an EP, Shape, before finishing the narrative to create what felt like a two-part story with Shifter, out Friday. Gundelach comments, “Shapeshifter is my interpretation of Theodor Kittelsen’s paintings of the mythology of Nøkken or The Nix in English. It is about cherishing the moment and trying to live as authentic as possible. Rain and sunshine. Hopelessness and bliss”
Gundelach – ‘Arms Around Me’ [album Shapeshifter] / LISTEN HERE
Now with just under a million streams, Gundelach’s EP Shape, has the remote solitude of rural Norway as the backdrop behind this more deeply personal and reflective style of music, which can be heard on the gorgeous, stripped-back folk of ‘Vinter’ which then swells into the more retro synth pop led electronics of ‘Vi Er Nærme Nå’. The impenetrable-yet-tender lyrics, mesmerising studio tricks—and Gundelach’s supple baritone vocals are the key elements in this project alongside the jittery electronics and synths that have been favoured in his most recent releases. Kai Gundelach spent his formative years as an underage DJ and guitar prodigy in Oslo’s nightlife scene, before entering the Scandinavian music scene with his debut single ‘Alone In The Night’. In 2020, Gundelach received a nomination in the Norwegian Grammys in the ‘Best Electronica’ category, for his collaboration with AURORA on the song ‘Cynical Mind’. He’s had love from BBC Radio 1, Wonderland, Pigeons and Planes, CLASH, Interview Magazine, Complex and Pharrell Williams, who included him in his Beats 1 show ‘OTHERtone’.
