Track Of The Day: BAXTR – ‘In Pop We Trust’

Following buoyant releases such as ‘Grace On Fire’ and ‘Bloom’, and having received acclaim from the likes of BBC Music Introducing, London trio Floss, Bash and Keiko – aka BAXTR – are back with a blast of pink, fuzzy energy, guaranteed to put a smile on your face and leave your ready for sunny days and balmy evenings with friends (if this rain ever stops!).

Propelled by an anthemic, uplifting energy, ‘In Pop We Trust‘ is a wonderfully joyous ode to all things pop and the happiness that it can bring. Oozing an effervescent, euphoric power as vocalist Floss Mackintosh’s rich, impassioned vocals soar, it combines a kitsch honey-sweet allure with racing, raucous hooks, creating a frenzied, fun-filled floor filler. A totally necessary, blissfully vibrant accompaniment to your Friday, firmly cementing BAXTR as a band on the rise; and I cannot wait to find out what they have in store for us next.

Of the meaning behind the track, Floss expands:

“I was on my way back from Specsavers. Thanks to my new goggles I was able to read a sign that said “In *something* we trust”. I can’t remember exactly what it was advertising, as I filled in my own blank immediately; Thinking to myself, what is it I trust in? What has never let me down…?
… To me, it feels as if this song is our theme tune. After the year we’ve all had, now more than ever I think we should all be revelling in the things that truly bring us bliss. If pop music does that for you… then crank this song!”

‘In Pop We Trust’ is out now, but keep your eyes peeled for a wonderfully wacky new video being shared next week!

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Introducing Interview: Rebekah Fitch

Having received acclaim from the likes of Clash for previous singles ‘Dust’, ‘Game Over’ and ‘Loose Ends’, Irish artist Rebekah Fitch has now shared a stirring new offering. A moving reflection on parting ways with someone you’ve loved, ‘Goodbye’ oozes a sweeping, rich emotion and sparkling musicality to create a heartfelt pop anthem.

We caught up with Rebekah to find out more…

Hi Rebekah, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello! Thank you so much for having me! I’m an alt-pop artist and songwriter from Belfast, currently living in London.

How did you initially start creating music?
I guess I initially started writing music when I was at school, as a way of channelling my creativity and processing what I was thinking. Pretty sporadically though! It wasn’t until I was actually leaving university that I started taking it seriously, trying to figure out what kind of artist I wanted to be and what I wanted to say. That was when I started focusing on trying to improve my songwriting and hone my craft. 

Your new single ‘Goodbye’ is out now – can you tell us what it’s all about?
‘Goodbye’ is about the struggle to express the full weight of a momentous goodbye between two cherished people – what our heart is longing to say, but our words can never fully express. It’s a song full of grief, but also of gratitude. I’ve had several significant goodbyes in my life, but I never felt that I honoured them with enough recognition, as I was always looking ahead to the next stage in my life. I wanted to write a song that paid homage to those people that have had such a profound influence and significance on me, and have given me so much.

You’ve been compared to the likes of Lorde and Daughter, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
I mean, they are definitely both strong influences for me, but what I’m inspired by ranges right the way from Bjork to Kanye, Sigur Rós to Muse. Anything that transports me, challenges me, excites me. I’m a real fan of actively listening to music, really paying attention to every part of it, and I love artists that create a full world around their music. The closer you listen, the more you uncover. 

In ‘normal’ times, how is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
I cut my teeth in the local scene in Belfast, which is incredible. For a small city, the wealth of talent it contains is just ridiculous, and immersing myself in the scene was truly amazing. There are tonnes of small music venues, and always something to see!

And what can fans expect from your live shows?
My live shows usually contain some multi-instrumental live looping, where I build up the song with different layers – synths, drums, flute, vocals etc. It’s so much fun to do, and makes the electronic side of what I do feel more organic. I also love sharing a bit behind the songs – you can feel people connect with them more when they know where the songs have come from.

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
If you don’t know her already, Lydia Evangeline is amazing, as well as WILDES and Reevah!

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
It’s a blessing and a curse I would say! Anyone can release music now – it’s accessible for everyone, not just a lucky few. We have access to every type of music at all times, so genres are mixing all the time and creativity is at an amazing high. It does mean that the amount of music out there is insane, so it’s hard to get noticed. But I believe that if you have talent, something unique to say and bucketloads of determination, with a tonne of hard work it can happen.

Finally, what does the rest of 2021 have in store for Rebekah Fitch?
LIVE SHOWS! About time, we’re all desperate for it – haha! I can’t wait to relive the euphoria of playing to a live audience with no restrictions!

Massive thanks to Rebekah for answering our questions!

‘Goodbye’, the latest single from Rebekah Fitch, is out now. Listen/download here.

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PREMIERE: CRISP&CLASSY & Rookes – ‘BASIC’

Following 2019’s ‘Suffocate’, electro-pop duo CRISP&CLASSY (aka producer Kat Knix and singer-songwriter Plushy) pride themselves on bringing sexual liberation and self-acceptance to the UK pop scene. Now collaborating with GIHE fave, London-based artist and promoter of queer female identity, Rookes, they have shared a colourful new single.

Born of a drunken night in East London, ‘BASIC’ is a vibrant, uplifting dance-floor anthem. Propelled by glitchy beats and electro-driven hooks alongside the luscious, sweeping vocals of Rookes, it blasts into the ears with an explosive queer energy. Oozing all the sassy, soulful and sparkling vibes you could ever desire, it offers a rich, buoyant soundscape that’ll leave you ready to get up and vogue around the living room in style. A truly empowering offering, it’s an effervescent ode to being yourself and silencing anyone who chooses to get in your way.

Listen to ‘Basic’ for the first time here:

‘BASIC’ is out tomorrow, 14th May. And keep your eyes and peeled for new albums from CRISP&CLASSY and Rookes, both set to drop this summer.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Five Favourites: Ci Majr

Having just released her debut EP Side Effects, upcoming Atlanta artist Ci Majr creates uplifting, emotion-filled pop anthems. A specially curated five track project, the EP sparkles with a heartfelt sense of hope alongside a scintillating energy and twinkling hooks.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Ci Majr to ask about her “Five Favourites” – five albums that have shaped her as a musician. Check out her choices below and scroll down to watch the recent video for ‘Guillotine’ at the end of the feature.

Daft Punk – Discovery
Discovery was such an important album in my evolution as a music lover and also as a future singer/songwriter/producer. This was one of six CDs in my dad’s car that I’d get to choose from on my morning rides to middle school. There was something incredibly infectious about this album from the beginning. At the root of it, it just felt so new and fresh. I hadn’t heard anything so purely “electronic”. Usually, I’d be able to pick out a multitude of instruments but with Daft Punk it was like a symphony of synths and my young brain was just infatuated. Plus, even reflecting now, the songwriting is so simple in a way but also so catchy, and now as a songwriter myself I can really appreciate how much harder it is to make a simple song that gets your point across. ‘Something About Us’ is a perfect example of that. A lot of repetition, very simple vocabulary, and it’s just so moving and catchy. It is something I aspire towards.


Yanni – Yanni Live At The Acropolis
Yanni is a Greek-American instrumental composer. I actually know this “album” as a live concert DVD (yay DVDs are old school now lol) that my parents had. I grew up playing classical music, so (as a kid) I only saw instrumental/orchestral music as being quite boring and old-fashioned. Yanni, on the other hand, was conducting an orchestra, while playing the bongos, piano and more, and the music was just so lively and contemporary. It was like listening to the soundtrack of a movie but the music is so good you don’t even need or want to see the movie. You can just imagine your own storylines. It was so filled with emotion and passion, and his charisma is just so palpable. I remember going through a phase where I was creating/producing incredibly intricate instrumental arrangements because of my obsession with this performance. Additionally, I loved this album/performance so much that when I was a gymnast as a child I made one of the songs ‘Nostalgia’ my floor routine music.


Christine and the Queens – La Vita Nuova
If you know anything about me, you should know that I’m a bit obsessed with Christine and the Queens. She’s like the queer pop queen I’ve needed for so long. This latest EP La Vita Nuova absolutely blew my mind and what makes it even better is the visual that goes along with it. I watch the visual for it at least monthly and it’s just as good each time. Christine is an artist across the board: musically, visually, her abilities as a dancer. She’s an icon aesthetically and in practice. She’s such an inspiration to me that when she used different configurations of colourful rhinestones on her face in the visual album, it was the inspiration for my use of colourful rhinestones in my music video for Guillotine.


Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience
So even before this album, I was a huge fan of Justin Timberlake, but what makes this album special for me is that it really feels like such an incredibly cohesive and intentional body of work. First off, each of the songs are between 4.5-8 minutes, which is unheard of for a pop album. So many of the songs start with the “radio edit” and then have an outro of sorts, and I was just so easily hooked to each of these songs despite the length. It was similar to hearing Discovery where I felt like the “style” that was captured in this album just felt so new and fresh that I was addicted to this album. I think what I loved most about this album is that it felt to me that Justin and everyone else involved weren’t trying to sound like anyone, it was just like whatever he created, whatever came out, he just went with it and that’s how I’d like to conduct myself as a creative. Not using others as guidelines but just trusting the art that emerges authentically.


Kanye – Life Of Pablo
What I love most about this album is that I wasn’t super into Kanye before this album (like I knew his popular stuff but probably never listened to an album from front to back). Kanye is a rapper but this album is so much more than a rap/hip hop album. It’s similar to The 20/20 Experience where you can just tell that there were just no creative guide-rails and the authenticity becomes the star of the show. It’s just a work of art.

Massive thanks to Ci Majr for sharing her Five Favourites!

Side Effects, the debut EP from Ci Majr, is out now. Watch the recent video for ‘Guillotine’ here:

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