Albums | Lillian Hepler Releases “I Only Love You When I’m Sad”
Posted by VMan on May 20, 2021
TikTok sensation Lillian Hepler has always had a love of music. The Utah-born artist grew up listening to artists like Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, and later became influenced by Adele and Taylor Swift. Beginning her music career at age 13, Hepler would post cover videos on YouTube. This eventually led to her writing original songs by age 15. In her Spotify bio, Hepler states “Music has always been my way of expressing myself, it’s my outlet, safe place, and where I feel most at home.” Hepler’s new song “I Only Love You When I’m Sad” is a dark pop track with a major r&b and hip-hop influence from a production stand point. Tune in above now!
Albums | Nashville Pop Artist Kory Shore Grapples with Self-Doubt in Relatable New Single “Enough”
Posted by VMan on May 17, 2021
Quick off the heels of his heartfelt single “IDKAT”, Nashville pop artist Kory Shore continues to deliver humanized hits with the release of his new track “Enough”. “Enough” captures a relatable side of Kory that grapples with self-criticism and doubt. Bred out of the confines of quarantine, Kory wrestled with stresses of everything crashing down on him at once. Relentlessly hard on himself, he fought time and time again to reach everyone’s expectations which almost always felt far out of reach. Shouldering the weight of the world, Kory dove into his music and wrote a song that many fans are bound to empathize with. Mental health suffered on a mass scale last year and the songs that came out of it display a raw, honest truth that will be revisited and remembered for decades to come.
“I think I’m not enough, no, I’m falling behind. All my friends are doing it right – Feels like I’m wasting my time…Like I’ll never make it” ~ Enough
At the time, Kory’s relationship was in a good place. The girl we got to know in his collaboration with Hip Hop artist danny G is here to stay in “Enough”; in fact, Kory opens up in the song about how she was his only true refuge from racing thoughts. Valuing the relaxation time that came with spending nights with his girlfriend, he was able to sense the contrast from his chaotic days and thus, took to his pen and paper to write and produce a track to remember. Speaking of pens and pads, Kory’s creativity doesn’t disappoint – leaving Easter eggs in the cover art for “Enough”, you can see the doodlings from past brainstorms and his first ever vinyl record “Unorthodox Jukebox” by Bruno Mars. The Kygo meets Jonas brothers vibe of “Enough” introduces a dual dimension to the track with its moody lyrics yet high energy production. What can easily be coined a ‘vulnerable summer anthem’, Kory introduces a new energy to match the season while staying true to the strength of his authentic storytelling that we know and love.
Albums | Chaz Cardigan & The Gifted Connect For “Feels Like I Know You”
Posted by VMan on May 14, 2021
Nashville singer/songwriter Chaz Cardigan connects with L.A. based duo The Gifted for a feel-good new collaborative single called “Feels Like I Know You” that goes over a relatable topic that only some people are lucky enough to fully understand. The indie pop anthem proves once again that Chaz is a rising star in the alternative pop space and excites me for what’s next for his project. Read a quote from him on the meaning of “Feels Like I Know You” below and check out the track above now!
“Social media really nurtures this desire we all have to be seen, and to find intimacy with strangers. You see someone’s life in pieces every day on your feed, and your brain puts them all together, like, ‘yes, I know them, we’re close! Just yesterday they went for a drive to their parents’ place.’ We’re all guilty of becoming friends with people who have no clue we exist. “Feels Like I Know You” is about that disconnect between following someone at a distance everyday, and the easy, honest jump in logic to considering them a friend — or more. The weird consequence of everyone being a brand is that everyone, famous or not, we’ve all got these parasocial bonds with total strangers now; I really wanted to follow that idea to its extremity. Everybody’s a stranger, so no one’s a stranger; “1’s and 0’s, it’s just as real as skin”.” – Chaz Cardigan
Albums | Yvng Jalapeño Drops Multifarious ‘Lunatic’ EP on Bite This!
Posted by VMan on May 13, 2021
After teasing singles ahead of the full-length release, Yvng Jalapeño reveals Lunatic EP. The 4-track music journey was given the nod of approval by Jauz himself, who punctually signed it to his label Bite This! “Losing Myself,” starts things off with an emotional side, but then goes full blown spicy in the drops. The energy here is up and down, but it all fits together in the end. “Clockwork,” embraces a dubstep genre and gets down right weird. Thick basslines and monotone melodies flow in unison to create a filthy smack we all need now and then. Turn your bass up to 11, “Lunatic,” hits the hardest of them all, sharing screeches and sirens in the same lane as the 2 singles before that gives a complete feeling to the EP, now 3 tracks in. The finale track simmers the energy back down but embodies a percussion side that drives stark originality into it.
Yvng Jalapeño has hit a ring of high-points like few have and compounded the benefits of it in 2021. Sharing the stage with massive artists, carrying songs with millions of plays, and boasting a well-recognized look/brand to top it off begins to describe the man behind the name. The DJ/producer has releases going back to 2015 via signings to Sony Music Australia, Yvng Jalapeño has not stopped the motions that lead to success since then and today boasts a large variety of dynamic singles that can make the mood somber or completely rock your socks off.
Albums | NIKO releases Italian-English heartfelt record “Dance Again”
Posted by VMan on May 5, 2021
LA-based Euro Pop artist NIKO takes us on an uplifting sonic journey with his new track ‘Dance
Again’. Inspired by classic 90s trance, NIKO’s graceful vocals, effortlessly interchanging between
Italian and English, soar atop the synth leads and groovy bass line in a track fit for any dance floor.
NIKO says that ‘Dance Again’, “ is a song about feeling nostalgic. It was written at the height of the
pandemic when I was missing my loved ones who were thousands of miles away. The track can be
interpreted very literally (wishing we could go out dancing like we used to), however, for me, the
song’s message goes beyond that. It’s about leaving your home to pursue your dreams, feeling
homesick, and looking back on a time when life seemed a little more carefree. “
Written and produced remotely with producer Joakim Buddee between Los Angeles and Stockholm,
the creative duo wanted to create a song with a futuristic feel, influenced by artists like Róisín
Murphy and Charli XCX. NIKO is a 100% a new artist to keep an eye on.
Albums | FLYCKT Drops Hopeful New Single, “ONE DAY”
Posted by VMan on April 26, 2021
Hope is always needed, but especially in unprecedented times like we’re currently in due to a global pandemic. flyckt is an modern artist from Sweden that blends pop melodies with big, sentimental and euphoric productions. His recently released single and video “ONE DAY” represents a comical time of longing for hours, days and weeks to pass. Something we can all relate to right now, thanks to Covid. It’s a knowing that things will get better, you just have to be patient. Check out a quote from flyckt on the release below and watch the visual above now!
“One day we will make it right. One day everything will be fine. One day she will love you. One day you will love her. One day is a song about that one day.”
Albums, Pop, Trap | Toyko Share Exciting New Hyperpop Single “Looking For Fun”
Posted by VMan on March 26, 2021
Following their distorted trap ballad “How Do You Sleep at Night?,” as well as their massive album Body Pillow, Vol. 2, Toyko are back with a brand new hyperpop gem, sharing exciting single “Looking For Fun.” Made up of Los Angeles-based songwriters/producers Matt Wiggers and Zac White, Toyko is a collaborative effort that has seen considerable success over the past couple of years with releases on labels such as Lowly, as well as a string of boundary-pushing singles.
“Looking For Fun” is without a doubt one of Toyko’s most exciting tracks to date: a short yet sweet single that compiles everything we love about the duo: distorted bass, attention-grabbing lyricism and playful melodies. Starting off with an atmosphere filled with bright piano and strings, “Looking For Fun” quickly transitions into an uplifting anthem, driven by groovy drums and a creative vocal arrangement. As Toyko explain:
“When I was writing the song lyrics I was writing them from my experience of just being kinda socially awkward. It might just be my internal monologue- but sometimes I get this impression that when I first meet new people I’m extra reserved and come off as uptight/shy. But then there’s this other side of me that once I just cross the boiling point of barely knowing someone I really put my full weird/crazy self out there and maybe go a little overboard. These sorts of behaviours I have combined with a previous history with alcohol/partying are what kind of fuelled the narrative in this song.”