Albums | Melodic Techno Artist Burko Unveils His Vocals In “Here Before”
Posted by VMan on February 4, 2022
Burko has taken over the SoCal scene by storm with his uniquely dark-yet-melodic style of house and techno. Today, he releases “Here Before” debuting his own sweet falsetto on the track.
Burko tells us: “When I wrote “Here Before” I was in my last bit of grad school, and had a lot of pressure from family to go into a more traditional line of work after graduation. I knew I needed to push myself and the Burko project harder if I was going to move into music full time after graduating, so I decided to do something with this song I had never done before, sing on my own track. Putting nerves aside of letting my singing voice be heard, I wrote these vocals around the theme of “staying the course.” The lyric in the song, “Don’t lose sight of why we’re here” is a reminder to myself not to lose sight of the dream of making music and touring after graduation, instead of a more traditional route. And the title, “Here Before,” refers to the place in my mind I sometimes end up at, when fear of the future sets in and I have to remind myself to stay the course.”
Beginning his production journey only a few years ago, Burko’s music has been picked up and played by many established DJ’s including Kyle Watson, Steve Darko, Wongo, Londonbridge and SNBRN. Key early support from heavy weights allowed for Burko to sail to the forefront of California’s burgeoning underground scene in a very short order. In 2021, Burko headlined the iconic Spin Nightclub, Bang Bang and played the Grand Artique Stage at Insomniac’s Beyond Wonderland Festival.
2022 sees Burko rolling out his debut EP, titled Infrared — a 4-track tour de force highlighting the producer’s unequaled style of “Medieval House” music.
Alternative | Alt Hip Hop Act WHO SHOT SCOTT Release “LOVE WE’LL NEVER KNOW”
Posted by VMan on November 20, 2021
Armed with an inspiring story that lies within the upbringing and heartbreak of the man behind WHO SHOT SCOTT, the experimental hip-hop artist has certainly been through trials and turbulence. Fleeing Iraq in the arms of his mother when he was 2 years old, they were forced to journey to Moscow due to the dangers in his home country. After time in the Russian capital, they packed their belongings and travelled to New Zealand. Meeting and finding comfort in a friend at the age of 8, their shared love for hip-hop resulted in an internationally performing duo with big visions for the future. In 2019 however, his partner, citing new-found religious belief, abruptly announced he will no longer make music, moved overseas and left his closest friend with no goodbye. After some gruelling months, experimental hip-hop artist WHO SHOT SCOTT was born from the ashes of that personal and professional apocalypse. The hybrid variety of influences and vibes on their new single and video is both impressive and as eclectic as it gets. Tap in above now and read a quote from the artist below!
“Vulnerability has always been at the forefront of my creative philosophy, whether it be my lyrical content or within my music production, I always strive to be brave and express my inner emotions as accurately as possible through my music. At the time of writing this song, I was dealing with the remnants of post-traumatic stress caused by an abusive relationship from my past. I was in a seriously bad place mentally and finally came to the realisation that I wasn’t ever truly in love with this person, but instead, infatuated by the potential of the relationship getting better. I’m very blessed to say that I eventually got out of that situation safely, but the manipulation definitely had some long-lasting effects on me than I would have liked it too. For me – this song is my closure, this is me telling myself that what happened was not my fault and doesn’t define me or my future. I was just seeing a love that wasn’t truly there.”
Pop | Cyfar Debuts First Ever Single
Posted by VMan on September 15, 2021
Erupting onto the scene in 2021 with his first ever single, the ever addicting “Sober” by new school singer/songwriter CYFAR expertly combines his bold lyricism stunning vocals with an immaculately bright and colorful sound to create his own unique blend of Afro-Pop. Born in Nigeria, CYFAR now resides in East London and is planning to release music full time after being such a big fan of it his entire life. He’s been working on music since he was 7 but just now released his firsts ever single, which you can check out above now.
At 17 I decided I wanted to dedicate myself to the arts and music became my way of expressing my feelings about the world around me. The last couple of years have seen me really develop the versatility of my sound, effortlessly fusing genres with melodies and lyrics.
R&B | Penelope Darling’s “Tears Run Red” is an emotional R&B-meets-blues ballad
Posted by VMan on August 24, 2021
Penelope Darling is a rising UK based singer/songwriter who smoothly puts in elements of pop, r&b and more into one cohesive emotionally charged soundscape. Her new R&B ballad “Tears Rub Red” is an emotional response to the hardest time in the life of Penelope; the heartache, struggle and strength of which you can hear in every R&B melody and pensive pause. Check it out above now.
Writing music is my therapy. Having the ability to create something beautiful, out of a dark situation is like magic. This song is honest and vulnerable like nothing else I’ve ever written. The beauty of songwriting is that you discover all these emotions that you didn’t know you had. You learn so much about yourself, as well as allowing yourself to heal. If you’re someone that heals with music, I hope you find a connection with this song that allows you to do that.”
Alternative | RUBBER connect with NIC HANSON’ via “REASON THAT YOU CAME HERE”
Posted by VMan on June 3, 2021
Philadelphia’s Rubber have been causing quite the stir in the industry lately, and their latest offering ‘Reason
That You Came Here’ is a track that is too good to ignore. Taking a trip into psychedelica, the funky duo adopt warped synths and electro-pop rhythms that play as a sultry backdrop for the alluring narrative. Sewing sound samples into the lyricism, they use peppered percussion to build up to a killer chorus that is shimmering with gorgeous falsetto harmonies, with a charming attitude akin to that of Anderson.Paak. Complimenting each other in their varying musical tastes, singer Andrew Loper and multi-instrumentalist/producer John Della Franco have struck gold with the track, which features a groove-laden verse from fellow Philadelphian Nic Hanson . “Reason That You Came Here is all about confidence and not giving a flying fuck” Rubber explains,
“It’s about anticipating that feeling of being in a room and having all the eyes on you, being the center of attention, and owning it. Being cooped up this past year has been an intense and tiring experience. For us and many other artists, the return of shows has been the one light at the end of this tunnel that we are desperate to catch a glimpse of. We just booked our first hometown show for June 10th at Sunflower Philly so that light is well within reach now. This song is the perfect capstone to this era of our career, live music is popping up again after this long pandemic winter, andwe will once again be the reason that you came here, to the show, for a night of connective, energetic, eclectic music”.
Pop | Listen to Rei’s New Single “Give Me a Little Jazz”
Posted by VMan on January 30, 2021
With years of practice and performance under her belt, Rei is definitely an artist to keep an eye on. “Give Me a Little Jazz” is her latest tune and it delivers an incredible listen that gives the listener an uplifting feeling. Needless to say we’re excited for what’s to come. “My songs reflect the idea that while we’re all isolated to varying degrees both as individuals and groups, we’re all equal in our ability to appreciate music. I write songs with themes across different generations, genres, ethnicities, gender preferences, and social consciousness, from equality to the environmental crisis. I sing for the sad, the lonely, and the heartbroken, so they know they’re not forgotten,” she says. Tune in to “Give Me A Little Jazz” above now!
Hip-Hop | Dylan Joshua drops self-titled V&B track “can’t stay”
Posted by VMan on October 4, 2020
Dylan Joshua has returned with a new relationship influenced single entitled “can’t stay.” Not one to be penned into strict genres of hip-hop or RnB, Dylan’s art could be defined at V&B – vibes and blues. The track creates the perfect balance of cool and dreamy vibes that maintains a spellbinding stream of consciousness that is effortlessly and melodically performed. The somewhat sad, somewhat real tune is about the end of a relationship and how tricky it can sometimes be to finally leave. See a quote via Joshua below and stream the song above now.
“can’t stay is the honest truth of me realizing the ending of a relationship and my thoughts on it. A lot of the music I make I just make for myself, I don’t write with the intention to put it out, so with my music, listeners are really just getting the true stream of thought of what I’m dealing with. Hopefully it opens up conversations for people to talk more about the issues they’re going through, unlike I did. I know for me personally, especially when things aren’t working out in a relationship it takes a toll because it’s like fighting a secret war. You don’t wanna show anyone there’s trouble in paradise so you kind of bottle it up. Thankfully I have music as an outlet but to the people out there who don’t it’s definitely a struggle I empathize with. It can be very draining”