LISTEN: Billie Flynn – ‘Hey Stranger’

Debut single ‘Hey Stranger‘ by Cornish artist Billie Flynn is an emotive and ethereal summer treat. Gentle as the winds, crashing as the waves – a track you can almost feel on the surface of your skin. 

Recorded between her home studio and remotely during lockdown – with beautifully pitched production by JMAC – this song  bends time as it conjures thoughts of past relationships. Flynn’s unique vocal style is delicate – breathy, floaty and melodic – but simultaneously packing its own punch. There’s command in her tone as she sings up with refreshingly direct lyrics about that standard scenario we all wonder about: in her own words “It’s about seeing someone again that isn’t in your life anymore and hoping that they’re proud of who you are now.” Deliciously relatable – “Well…are you proud?”, I ask myself before getting swept up in the melody again. 

This is a track which undulates and surprises over and over again as it confidently takes on many instrumental turns and changes in pace, culminating in a textured, echoing climax before being neatly stripped all the way back down again for a final glorious flourish of Flynn’s uniquely elemental voice. An absolute journey of a track, which summons much excitement for future EPs.

‘Hey Stranger’ is out now via Never Fade Records.

Tutku Barbaros
@tutkubarbaros

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LISTEN: Georgia Chanel – ‘Realise’

Balmy and confessional, ‘Realise‘ is the second single from West Midlands born singer songwriter and producer Georgia Chanel.

Revelling in R&B and neo-soul influences, ‘Realise’ opens with mesmerising cinematic instrumentals over which Georgia’s voice glides like butter to warm toast. This is a heady, all-consuming song which not only shines a light on Georgia’s singing talents but her gift for storytelling too – the lyrics are confessional, introspective and intimate. Word by word Georgia takes us through a series of epiphanies about a past love before settling on the truth of the matter: “I never knew you, I never knew you, I never knew you”. It would be heartbreaking if it weren’t so delicately anthemic, cathartic even. 

Where this could easily be a track of defeat, Georgia lifts us towards empowerment instead. That precise interplay between the bitter and the sweet is what makes this such a perfect accompaniment for our capricious British summer time, whether it’s roof down in the heat or raindrops pelting against mismatched fences, this song will weather well. Somewhere in the background synths and saxophones chime like birds warbling into the wild, creating an other worldly atmosphere. There’s a rawness and a heart here: an authenticity – an artist to watch out for and a song to remember.

Tutku Barbaros
@tutkubarbaros

 

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