Track Of The Day: Graywave – ‘With Me’

An atmospheric slice of dream-pop designed to help listeners escape their bedroom walls; Graywave has shared her latest single, ‘With Me’. The track combines Graywave’s smooth vocals with lush, shoe-gaze inspired guitar sounds which help to distract and deter negative thoughts.

Graywave, aka multi-disciplinary artist Jess Webberley, is influenced by the likes of artists such as Men I Trust, Slowdive, Crumb, and Japanese Breakfast. She blends ambient elements of dream-pop with slightly gritter elements of shoegaze to produce her charming sounds, and ‘With Me’ is a gentle example of this.

“‘With Me’ was written and brought to life with the ambition to create something meaningful and creative during lockdown” Graywave explains. “The song was written and recorded by myself in my bedroom and sent off to Sam Bloor for mixing and mastering. The artwork is reflective of the writing experience and creating it was a way for me to visualise the sound of the track. It depicts my bedroom with the addition of a portal leading elsewhere, tying in with the mood of the song. The only coherent lyrics in the song – ‘always searching, always yearning’ – allude to the feeling of always wanting to surpass any successes I may achieve, coupled with a constant longing to be elsewhere.”

Graywave’s sentiments will resonate with many listeners as they approach the end of this lockdown period. Listen to ‘With Me’ below and follow Graywave on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Kayla May

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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WATCH: I, Doris- ‘Wonderwomen’

Could there be a more timely, appropriate anthem for a tired, stressed-out mama like me? With new single ‘Wonderwomen’, feminist mummycore band, I, Doris, poke fun at the pressure parents put on themselves and each other, and remind us that we don’t need to be heroes – even if we do look pretty badass in a costume.

‘Wonderwomen’s squelchy, 60s-style bassline, coupled with lush harmonies and a pure pop chorus, make this song a proper lo-fi earworm that begs you to forget what you’re doing and shimmy along. And its message, summarised beautifully by the band as “you’re doing fine as you are, love”, is just as irresistible.

In the song’s video, the band – (coincidentally?) all named Doris – don hero costumes as they take on everyday battles; the school run, a supermarket shop, the office. And as they sing along, looking like a bunch of strong superwomen, it’s clear that this is the song – and the band – that I need right now!

Watch the video for ‘Wonderwomen’ here:

Vic Conway

Photo Credit: Keira-Anee Photography

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Track Of The Day: Amaroun – ‘Scarlet’

Following the poignant power of ‘Rise’ and following acclaim from the likes of BBC 6Music and BBC Introducing, GIHE fave Jay Brown – aka Amaroun – has now shared the latest in a string of singles that she’s releasing each month of 2020.

With each single so far touching on a different theme surrounding life as a queer woman, ‘Scarlet’ is a love song, reflecting on Jay’s “obsession” with  red-heads and the story of how her and her partner met. Oozing a gentle romanticism and subtle playful wit, it’s propelled by immense pounding beats and uptempo glitchy hooks as Amaroun switches between soulful refrains and fast-paced spoken-word lyricism. With a sunny, danceable groove and glistening energy, ‘Scarlet’ reflects Amaroun’s ability to tackle any genre and make it truly her own. An instantly uplifting slice of alt-pop, its luscious scintillating vibes will have you hooked on first listen.

Listen to ‘Scarlet’ now and keep your ears peeled for further releases from Amaroun throughout the rest of the year!

 

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Track Of The Day: Noga Erez – ‘NO News on TV’

A deceptively simple, buoyant exploration of how it might feel to disconnect from reality; Noga Erez has shared her latest single, ‘NO News on TV’. Erez penned the track during the covid-19 pandemic with her partner Ori Rousso, whilst continuing to work on her second album which is set for release later this year.

Polished production, catchy beats, and relatable lyrics combine to make ‘NO News on TV’ one of Erez’s most memorable tracks to date. She completed it without the usual distraction of emails, news and phone calls; and was therefore able to imagine a world with no access to “politics, money, grit, racism or violence.”

“I don’t wanna look at my phone anymore” she muses in the track’s opening line, fatigued by the constant flow of bad news. But rather than encouraging listeners to switch off from the world, Erez highlights that this apathy is an unhealthy privilege, and one that many communities do not have.

The Tel-Aviv based artist articulates why it’s so crucial not to turn away when we see injustice: “As I write these words people in America and all over the world are fighting for justice for the black community. It’s tragic and saddening that in this day and age we still have to deal with racism. But this fight is so extremely important, not just for the black community in the US but for any person who suffers from oppression and mistreatment.”

“I call this song ‘a children’s song for adults’ because it shows a naive, Utopian reflection of reality. I just needed to have a song like that. An escape song. [But] this isn’t time for escaping, it’s a time for confronting. Singing about how ‘everybody’s free’ right now is such an incredible dissonance for me. It says exactly what it needs to say: not everyone is free. Actually most of us aren’t, but some of us are literally, physically not free. And that has to change fast.”

Erez explores these themes in the beautifully shot video that accompanies the track, featuring an exquisitely decorated mansion and a devious bear playing drums. She elaborates on her characterisation and the visual metaphors she used: “I wanted to play a character that is very different from how I see myself, and the feeling of boredom playing a big part in a subconscious way throughout the video. The bear here is an intruder, a threat coming from the outside world and messing up the Utopia, and also salvaging the character from the underwhelming feeling of having no worries or trouble. Once she gets friendly and intimate with the intruder she instantly realises the outside world is too scary, too intense and she decides to get rid of it and go back to closing herself off from anything outside her beautiful, perfect boredom.”

Check out the video for ‘NO News on TV’ below and follow Noga Erez on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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