Sit back and enjoy the music
The Naked And Famous are releasing a new album, Recover, next month and to support it, they have recorded a flawless cover of The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights. That being said, this cover will not be part of the new album.
While we wait for the album to drop, let’s enjoy this tune from probably my favorite band from New Zealand.
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JC Stewart is a young Irish singer that doesn’t even have a full album out yet. What he has is a number of singles and EPs that are already generating some buzz in different circles, such as I Need You To Hate Me. I wouldn’t call this song groundbreaking, but I do think it’s a perfect pop song with a nice melody and a catchy chorus.
Here you can watch its lyric video.
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The Airborne Toxic Event were extremely active from 2008 to 2015 and then went quiet until now, when they’re back with their sixth studio album, Hollywood Park, which is a concept album accompanied by a book: lead singer Mikel Jollett’s memoir.
The first single out of Hollywood Park is Come On Out, which is not bad at all, but the song I’m adding to the mixtapes here is The Common Touch, which has the band’s signature style and deep, harrowing lyrics. Hope you like it!
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Third Eye Blind (3eb) might be alternative rock legends, but that doesn’t mean that your average joe will know who they are. Trust me, I’ve lost track of the amount of clueless looks I’ve received whenever I’ve mentioned them in any conversation about favorite bands. What often happens is that most people can recognize the melody of Semicharmed Life, but not much more than that.
Anyway, the Californian band has just released a cover of an old Joy Division song called Disorder, which is what I’m recommending right now. It is really good and, in my opinion, it could be even better than the original. Do you agree? Also, should I create a mixtape with just covers? Please let me know in the comments section!
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I got to admit that I didn’t know much about either of these two DJs until this song, EVO, got featured on a couple of Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance compilations (#908 & #909), but we will all know about them if they continue producing tunes like this one. Manuel Le Saux is a Roma-based DJ & Producer and Unbeat seems to be a DJ from Slovakia. Here’s to more tracks like EVO. Give it a listen in the mixtapes below:
Polish pianist, composer and singer Hania Rani just released her second album, Home, of soothing melodies, with its centrepiece being the relaxing F Major. Although not very famous –yet–, her first album, Esja, was widely successful and won her several awards in her home country.
F Major is a great piece but equally great is its accompanying music video, which you can watch below, in which Hania plays the piano against a stunning Icelandic backdrop.
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Gareth Emery is a British Trance producer and DJ who has won prestigious awards and released multiple studio albums. Within the DJ/Trance world, he’s as well-known as somebody could get, but not necessarily outside of it. Besides, even if you had heard of him before, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss Long Way Home, because it is so good, that I simply had to add it to the Electronic Mixtape even though it was released six years ago. No doubt about it.
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Marga Sol is the official resident DJ at Buddha Bar, Santorini and her music has been featured in thousands of compilation albums, including Buddha Bar and Ministry of Sound. In spite of all that, I wasn’t aware of her existence until I heard this track –What I Long For, from her 2019 album: Coastline– on an AI-generated playlist from one of the two major streaming services. It is possible something similar is happening to you now.
This is a great chill out tune that I would love to hear while sipping a cocktail in Santorini or the Balearic Islands. Sadly, we’ll have to settle for listening to this song at home during the Covid-19 quarantine. Thank you, 2020.
@margasolmusic #margasol #chillout
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All Time Low is as popular as a punk rock band can be nowadays. I’m posting this well aware that most people will know who they are. That being said, the track from their new album (Wake Up, Sunshine) I’m recommending here is not even being mentioned –let alone promoted– as a potential future single and is, in my opinion, the best one on the record. It would be a shame if the band’s casual listeners didn’t get a chance to hear it. Give it a listen.
For a review of their 2023 single Tell Me I’m Alive, click here.
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*Drawing made by Okamura Yuta.
Yosi Horikawa‘s Bubbles has been featured on the popular series of Chill Out compilations: Café del Mar, so it isn’t exactly unknown. However, most people have probably never heard of either this track nor the Japanese composer, which is a shame because Yosi Horikawa is one of the most original artists out there. Just listen to Bubbles below to see why I honestly believe that.
Also, do yourself a favor and listen to it using headphones or some good speakers. It takes the experience to a whole new level because of something called stereo imaging.
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