“Farewell Warning” by Royel Otis

“Farewell Warning” by Royel Otis
“Farewell Warning” by Royel Otis

Artist: Royel Otis

Song: Farewell Warning

Genres: #chillout #indie

Location: Sydney, Australia

Release date: March, 2023.

Comment: If you are looking for a dreamy and melancholic song to soothe your soul, you might want to check out “Farewell Warning” by Royel Otis. This duo from Sydney, Australia is composed of Royel (vocals, guitar) and Otis (drums, keyboards), who met at a bar and grill in 2020 and decided to form a band. They usually make guitar-pop music with a nostalgic and romantic vibe, but this track, which closes their new album Sofa Kings, is completely different. It is almost an instrumental track, with a hauntingly beautiful melody that will make you feel nostalgic about a beautiful moment in the past.

“Farewell Warning” is a really difficult song to categorize, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that it is deeply enjoyable and almost dreamlike. Give it a listen below!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

Melobird – Horizon

Melobird - Horizon
Melobird - Horizon

Artist: Melobird

Song: Horizon

Genres: #electronicmusic

Location: Yper, Belgium

Release date: March, 2023

Comment: “Horizon” is a melodic house track that is sure to take you on a journey to a realm of euphoria. The captivating melodies and mesmerizing visuals created by Melobird himself are a perfect match for this uplifting tune. Melobird is a Belgian electronic music producer and visual artist who has recently released this track as a testament to his passion for creating immersive experiences.

Melobird started his journey as Outlander, focusing on harder genres like Hardstyle, and even playing at major events like Tomorrowland and Defqon 1. However, he has returned to his roots with Melobird, embracing melodic and euphoric music infused with oriental and transcendental elements.

I’m glad he did because “Horizon” is a fantastic track that showcases Melobird’s talent as both a producer and visual artist. If you’re a fan of melodic house or just looking for some uplifting music to add to your playlist, I highly recommend giving “Horizon” a listen. You won’t be disappointed!

Crusoe – Goodmorning

Crusoe - Goodmorning
Crusoe - Goodmorning

Artist: Crusoe

Song: Goodmorning

Genres: #electronicmusic

Location: Unknown

Release date: February, 2023

Comment: There’s an American band called Crusoe that has a song I quite like, called “Standing on Lightning”. However, I’m not referring to them today. Instead, I’m talking about an electronic music act that goes by the same name. The Apple Music algorithm recommended them to me, assuming they were the same band, but that was not the case. Unfortunately, there’s not much information about this electronic art: it has no bio on Spotify, no official website, and Google cannot help much due to a certain literary character that shares the same name.

Crusoe got an instagram account and, based on information in the video below on YouTube, the artist’s real name appears to be Laurens Boeve. However, that’s about all the information available. What I can tell you, though, is that Crusoe is a special talent. Just listen to ‘Goodmorning,’ the last track on their ‘A Revived Love For Life’ EP. Do you hear the whale vocalizations in the background? It certainly sounds like them, and I find it really cool. Just check it out and let me know.

Jon Hopkins, Kelly Lee Owens, Sultan + Shepard & Jerro – To Feel Again / Trois

ArtistJon Hopkins, Kelly Lee OwensSultan + Shepard & Jerro

Song: To Feel Again / Trois

Genres: #electronicmusic

Location: Canada, United Kingdom & Belgium

Release date: September, 2022.

Comment: Out of all the entries in this website, the one with the highest number of Google Search hits is by far the entry for Sultan + Shepard‘s flawless track: Assassin. I’m now going to make things a bit more confusing to those visitors by adding another track involving the same duo, along with Belgian producer Jerro, and British producers Jon Hopkins and Kelly Lee Owens.

I’ll let Sultan + Shepard explain the story behind this track: “One day, we happened to be on Reddit, and saw that someone had tagged us in a video of Jon Hopkins playing our collaboration with Jerro, ‘Trois’. We were very flattered because we’ve been a big fan of Jon ever since we heard Light Through The Veins many years ago. We reached out on Twitter to say thanks for supporting the track, and he wrote back saying he had an idea he wanted to discuss. Turns out he had discovered the song in a car after a gig in Milan and Shazam’d it and started playing it in his sets. He then made a special edit of Trois using the vocals and synths from his song ‘Luminous Spaces’ with Kelly Lee Owens. He sent us the rough draft and we quickly sent over stems and before we knew it a new piece of music had been born out of our two songs. ‘Luminous Spaces’ was one of our favorite tunes of the past couple years so we were extremely excited. We’re such fans of both Kelly and Jon, so being able to connect and collaborate with them through this song that we started with Jerro in our studio last year feels very special to us.” Enjoy!

Damian Boylan – Expansions

Artist: Damian Boylan

Song: Expansions

Genres: #chillout

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: September, 2022.

Comment: With a Master’s degree (MEng) in Aerospace Engineering, most people wouldn’t think Damian Boylan could also have an artistic side, let alone one in which he seems to be good at everything: sculpting, painting, video, and, well, obviously, music. Expansions is one if his latest releases: a poignant, classically-infused electronic track that is basically candy for your ears. Damian also created the audiovisual piece below, the perfect companion to Expansions.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

Jonny Fallout – Dark Space – That Feeling

Artist: Jonny Fallout

Song: Dark Space – That Feeling

Genres: #electronicmusic #synthwave

Location: Boston, United States

Release date: June, 2022.

Comment: When you are classically trained pianist, with a background in jazz performance and audio engineering; it follows that, as an electronic music artist, you are going to make noteworthy music. It cannot be any other way and Jonny Fallout is exhibit A. In his own words, he “produces synthwave and retrowave with EDM and cyberpunk flavor.” What this actually means is complex melodies with multiple layers that create a world of interconnected sounds you’ll want to get lost in.

After an award winning debut album, Cybertherial, in 2021, Jonny Fallout returned with the follow-up, Cybertherial II, this past June. Dark Space – That Feeling is part of that journey into our emotions, light, and darkness.

Simon Mós – Progression

Artist: Simon Mós

Song: Progression

Genres: #chillout

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: July, 2022.

Comment: I’m sorry I didn’t feature this great tune, Progression, in time for the summer, but I guess it’s better late than never. The artist behind the track, South London’s Simon Mós, wanted to evoke feelings of nostalgia and melancholy by using experimental guitar recordings into his beats, all of this while maintaining a minimalist production style. Progression is a great example of that and also the perfect way to start your weekend. Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

oppidum – Murmuration

Artist: oppidum

Song:  Murmuration

Genres: #chillout

Location:  Bordeaux, France

Release date: July, 2022

Comment: French artist oppidum is undoubtedly one of the best electronic music artists out there. He was featured here two years ago with his single Genius Loci, and even then you could tell he was different. Now he’s back with a new, self-produced, EP, Vignemale, whose lead single is the superb Murmuration. Vignemale is one of the highest peaks in the Pyrenees, and the EP is the story of the five-day journey to reach it. oppidum’s trademark is creating instrumental downtempo electronica tracks that combine acoustic instruments with field recordings, and you will find plenty of that in Murmuration as well.

The acoustic guitar tones in this hypnotic track are phenomenal. I feel I could listen to Murmuration all day on repeat.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

Hatsü – Be Conscious

Artist: Hatsü

Song: Be Conscious

Genres: #relaxing #ambient

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: May, 2022.

Comment: Today, middle of the week, let’s switch gears to something extremely relaxing. Be Conscious is a hypnotic track from London-based music producer Bobby Turner, aka Hatsü, which is a Japanese name meaning Beginning. One problem I’ve found with most ambient tracks is that they tend to sound very similar to each other but, luckily, Be Conscious does not suffer from that issue. Instead, Hatsü introduces subtle changes with layer after layer of textures and tones, resulting in a gentle soundscape that will certainly help you to focus, sleep or meditate.

I hope you enjoy this ethereal piece as much as I did.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

Departure – Calle 63

Photo credit: @santiago_denegurica

Artist: Departure

Song: Calle 63

Genres: #chillout #lofi

Influences: Khruangbin

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: April, 2022.

Comment: Camilo Tostón, who produces music as both Departure and for boutique music labels, grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, in a 3-story building inhabited entirely by family members. When he listened to Khruangbin‘s track: Cómo Te Quiero and watched its music video, which depicts the last minutes of a dying grandfather, Camilo got inspired to reminisce about the happy childhood that he had and came up with Calle 63, a magical track that transport you back to those years when we were happy without knowing it.

Calle 63 is Camilo‘s second single as Departure. Something I really like about it is that despite being an electronic track, the main element in this mesmerizing tune is actually a guitar. Outstanding job.

Featured on the following mixtapes: