Tag: singer

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Teen Idle – In The Morning

Teen Idle

Sara Abdelbarry is a 23 year-old music artist of Egyptian heritage who greg up in the suburbs of New Jersey. The boredom of suburban life and everything she went through growing up led her to start writing songs in 2018 as a mean to emotional catharsis, giving birth eventually to Teen Idle, her musical project.

Back in June, Teen Idle released her first EP, Insomniac Dreams, which consists of 6 tracks of what could be categorised as indie/dream-pop, with my favourite one being In The Morning. What I like about this song is that Sara’s ethereal vocals and pop flavour get infused with hints of alternative rock from the 90’s. I think Sara will inevitably get compared to Hope Sandoval/Mazzy Star and I can certainly see why, but I also think that she injects enough of her own identity to Teen Idle’s music to be able to stand on her own.

Listen to this rising star below and let me know if you disagree.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Shy Martin – Are You Happy?

Sara Hjellström, aka Shy Martin, is a young artist who looks even younger. That could mislead you into thinking she’s new to the music industry when, in fact, she’s an established songwriter. She’s written or co-written successful tracks for the likes of Kygo (featuring Ellie Goulding), Bebe Rexha and Jess Glynne. And if all that wasn’t enough, she can sing too. This Swedish singer/songwriter even signed a record deal with EMI when she was 17 but ultimately decided to go the independent route, which eventually brought her here, to the release of her sophomore EP, Sad Songs, which consists of five very nice indie pop tracks, including today’s entry to The Alternative Mixtapes.

Are You Happy? is a delicate but catchy song with a melancholic theme: appreciating failed past relationships. The gorgeous melody goes hand in hand with Shy’s vocals, resulting in this nice tune that got all the elements to get a lot of airplay and streams. Pairing it with a lovely music video, which you can watch below, helps too. Could this song become your next musical crush?

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Frida Sundemo – Gazelles

Frida Sundemo - Gazelles

Last month, I had recommended a song from Lights & Motion‘s latest album called I See You. That song was a collaboration with Swedish singer (and actress) Frida Sundemo, who has an angelic and delicate voice. However, Frida’s individual work is equally deserving of attention. Since 2010, she has been releasing her own music, and in May, she unveiled her latest EP, Sounds In My Head, which includes the mesmerizing track “Gazelles.”

While “Gazelles” had already been released as a single last year, it remains a captivating ballad that truly showcases Frida’s remarkable vocal prowess. The accompanying video below is even more impressive, capturing Frida’s flawless live performance as she gracefully sings and plays the piano. It’s a truly unforgettable experience. Simply sit back and enjoy the magic!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Linney – Cool

Linney - Cool

Caitlin Linney is an American singer and songwriter who is known simply as Linney. After starting her career in 2011 on Kickstarter, she has consistently written and released multiple songs, collaborated artist such as Gareth Emery, and even won some songwriting awards. Her style revolves mostly around electronic music, but it could go from indie pop all the way to trance music. While I don’t think she has had her big break yet, she’s certainly on the brink of it. She got more than 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Cool is basically an earworm she released earlier this year that I simply haven’t been able to get out of my mind since I heard it for the first time a few days ago. There is something between the soft electronic background and the ethereal way in which Linney sings this song that keeps me coming back for more. Listen to this magnetic song below at your own risk.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Lizzy & the Fanatics – Les fleurs mortes

Lizzy & the Fanatics

Lizzy & the Fanatics is a dream pop band from Montreal, Canada, that after playing shows around the region for three years, released last month a bilingual EP with 6 indie pop tracks that taste like candy from your childhood. You can sense some 80s and 90s vibe on the record as well with its nostalgic synths and pastel color melodies.

Even though I don’t speak French (I know barely enough to understand that the name of the song featured here means “dead flowers”), I didn’t have to in order to connect with the song being highlighted here: Les fleur mortes. Music is universal, after all. However, rest assured, the EP has also 4 tracks in English that are just as good. Obviously, it is a matter of personal taste, but if you like dreamy 80s flavored indie pop, Lizzy & the Fanatics will be right up your alley.

‘‘I wrote Les fleurs mortes while riding my bike in

the dead of November last year, while missing the

summer. The song is about nostalgia; how it can

simultaneously make you feel the sad feelings of

losing something from the past, at the same time

as feeling content of remembering something

that was good. I find that this ambivalence of

feeling is a bit like drying dead flowers, preserving

the memory of something nice.’’

Lysanne Picard (Lizzy)

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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strawbey – play pretend

strawbey

I had the pleasure of listening to the debut single of strawbey last week and was looking forward to its official release today so that I could share it with you here. Play pretend is the kind of indie/dream pop that hypnotizes you and leaves you wanting more. Amazingly, the song was written, produced, recorded and released entirely in lockdown; which you wouldn’t know because it sounds as if it had been recorded in a studio by a top-notch producer.

strawbey is the stage name of 19-year-old Norwich singer (and friend of The Alternative Mixtapes), Ruben Pope, who won first place in 2019’s Young Norfolk Writing Competition and has received the support of the likes of the BBC, who featured play pretend in their LGBTQ+ Records of the Year Pride Playlist 2020 for the Norfolk region. Ruben’s debut EP will be released in August but, in the meantime, we can enjoy this honest and raw song about the struggles of playing pretend just to fit in. There is no video yet but you can listen to play pretend in the mixtapes below.

Without a doubt, strawbey is the kind of talent we should all support.

“There are times where we all knowingly ‘play pretend’ and although we often fail to acknowledge this, we’d all rather ‘fake it ‘til we make it’.”

strawbey

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Maisie Peters – The List

Maisie Peters

The 20-year old singer-songwriter Maisie Peters won a following after posting her original songs on Youtube in 2017. Not long after that, she got a deal record from Atlantic Records and even though she hasn’t released a full album yet, she has put out a number of singles that got her some notoriety, with the latest one of them being The List. I honestly think that the British singer is one lucky break away from becoming the next big thing, and this song might well be it.

Maisie is not only able to come up with great hooks and catchy melodies, but she’s also a talented lyricist despite her young age. That talent is put perfectly on display on this song (as you can see for yourself with the lyric video posted here), which deals with the subject of liking yourself when you feel the most vulnerable. Something tells me we’ll keep hearing about Ms. Peters for years to come. In the meantime, you can fin The List in the mixtapes below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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JC Stewart – I Need You To Hate Me

JC Stewart

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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop