Music News

TPP News: Phoebe Bridgers, Doja Cat and Saweetie All Slated For Billboard 2022 Women in Music Awards

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Modern music legends Phoebe Bridgers, Saweetie and Doja Cat will each be presented with honours at 2022’s Billboard Women in Music Awards.

Rap stars Doja and Saweetie are to reieve the Powerhouse and Game Changer Awards, respectively, whilst this year’s Trailblazer Award will go to the rising folk-pop icon Phoebe Bridgers.

The awards are to be bestowed during the upcoming presentation on 2nd March at the Youtube Theatre in L.A, hosted by R&B stalwart Ciara.

Billboard’s Editorial Director, Hannah Karp, released a statement saying: “We are once again thrilled to recognise a diverse group of incredibly powerful women driving the music business and shaping pop culture. From legendary acts to those just beginning to make a name for themselves, these are all women pushing the envelope and inspiring fans around the world with their musicality, determination, attitude and style.

“We are thrilled to bring these influencers together for a night of incredible performances and inspiring conversation about the future of music.”

Further honours will be presented to blues legend Bonnie Raitt who will receive the Icon Award, Latin star Karol G who will take home the Rule Breaker Award, Gabby Barrett who receives the Rising Star Award and Summer Walker who is slated for the 2022 Chartbreaker Award.

Julian Holguin, Billboard’s president, also commented: “Billboard’s Women in Music is an annual opportunity for us to celebrate undeniably influential women from across the industry. From Doja Cat to Karol G, Saweetie and Bonnie Raitt, we couldn’t be more thrilled to honor this diverse group of women pushing limits and breaking down boundaries with a show-stopping live event, and for the first time, invite fans to join in on the celebration in-person.”

Original Source: Music News

TPP News: The Newest Solution To Music Storage; Tunetables

Music News, News

Vinyl enthusiasts, we may have just found your new favourite brand. If you’re one of those people who LOVE showing off your record collections and have music spinning all day, you need Tunetables in your life, there’s no question about it. No more heading to the storage room to grab your favourite Talking Heads album from the old school (and not in a good way) shelving unit, and no more feeling guilty about leaving your records in the storage room in the first place!

Nope, Tunetables is about to change your life. The UK-based company takes designs based on classic music-equipment flight cases and turns them into tables that can house your precious vinyl collection. Just imagine – you’ve got an insane-looking table that will definitely be the talking point of your living room that also doubles up as a forever home for your favourite music.

Check out Tunetables below:

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Funk-fused “Fresh’n’ Nu” Sees Medy Lema Take Long Overdue Centre Stage Position

Dance, funk, Music News, New Music, New Release, R&B, Soul

When you’ve worked behind names like Stormzy, Lisa Stansfield and IAMDDB, carving yourself an identity is no easy feat – having lived in the shadow of so many greats – but RnB star Medy Lema has found no issue in doing just that with new single “Fresh ‘n’ Nu”.

Carrying over a plethora of on-stage experience, performing to crowds since he was three, Lema’s persistence and bold spirit is told through autobiographical lyrics and pounding funk bass beats.

“I was in a difficult period of my life a few years ago but it was with the help of a few friends and the will of rising up that brought me this far because I’m not a quitter. Most of my songs are autobiographical in a way.” – Medy Lema

With this in mind, the Manchester-hailing genre-blender makes quick word from standing out from genre’s congested scene as the track bursts into a ripping guitar solo and funk jam to divert expectations and move feet; a sound as fresh and new as the title suggests.

Medy Lema is undoubtedly destined to take his unique brand of RnB, Soul, EDM and Funk to high places and beyond – whatever your musical preference, “Fresh ‘n’ Nu” is an undeniable hit and deserves to be heard.

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Sophie Kilburn Releases Incredible Debut Indie-Pop EP ‘My Room Made Public’

Music News, New Music

Sophie Kilburn drops her EP ‘My Room Made Public’, an edgy and impressive indie-pop debut that has received widespread acclaim and is available everywhere now.

London based but born in Derbyshire, Sophie’s music is introspective and gritty. Each track brings into focus a new subject, be it romantic relationships (‘Movements’), mental health issues (‘I’m In Love With My Therapist’), pressures of ambition (‘Ruthless’) or identity crisis (‘Under the Heat’). The production is guitar-based with pounding drum machines giving a nostalgic feel, powered through with catchy hooks and strong vocals. It is in the successful alt-pop bracket as HAIM or Soccer Mommy and wouldn’t seem out of place supporting either.

“With My Room Made Public, I wanted to create a body of work that is an emotionally open and honest introduction to me as an artist and the songs I write. At the end of the day, I just want to bring emotional comfort and make people want to fight for what they want out of life, find themselves in their own way and to never settle for something that hurts them. I guess I am trying to do that for myself too, but there is always strength in numbers.” 

Garnering much support from publications including Complex, BBC Introducing and XS Noize, while Clash called her “something special”. Without a doubt, Sophie Kilburn is a very exciting musical prospect and ‘My Room Made Public’ an example of her prodigious talent.

For her full EP, listen HERE.

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Zac Hurst digs deep for emotional follow up to iTunes charts success ‘Falling In Love On My Own’

Acoustic, Music News, New Music, New Release, pop, Pop Music, Review, UK Music

Hailing from East London, Zac Hurst is going from strength to strength with his newest single, ‘Falling In Love On My Own’. Modern pop excellence dripping with realistic emotion, Hurst’s latest offering comes after the hugely successful ‘2020’ which stormed the iTunes charts, and offers a tale of genuine feelings and relatable experiences.

Teaming up with Tik Tok famous couple Shan Wills & Ryan Snellings for the accompanying music video (see below), the story is further weaved from colour pallettes, or lack of, and real people back up the raw lyricism in the track. The stylistic yet straightforward video is refreshing and compliments the contemporary production and tone of the song. There’s no need for flashy visuals or over the top effects; instead, the narrative-driven video perfectly offers another look into the music and the songwriter.

‘Falling In Love On My Own’ official music video

‘’This project began during the first lockdown. I wanted to write a song about being away from someone you love, without being able to do anything about it… hence ‘falling in love on my own’. I’ve played this song close to 100 times on live streams/live gigs now, with some of my followers knowing all the words, so it’s tried and tested, and I would say this song is probably around a year’s work on and off which makes it very exciting to finally release’’ – Zac Hurst

Overall, ‘Falling In Love On My Own’ (released July 2nd) is clean and showcases a smooth and powerful vocal performance from Zac Hurst that perfectly wraps up the sentimentality that oozes out of each note. It’s an excellent example of modern pop devoid of cliches, replacing them with frank honesty and solid storytelling.

Connect with Zac Hurst here:

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Words by Ellen Oakley

Everything we know about Halsey’s “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power”

Alt-Pop, Alternative, female singer, Indie-Pop, Metal, Music News, New Music, New Release, pop, Punk, Rock

Halsey has announced her fourth studio album, “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power,” on Twitter, complete with artwork and release date. The ‘Closer’ singer tweeted yesterday (July 7th) simply with a caption containing the album’s title and the date ‘August 21, 2021’, accompanied by the dubbed ‘striking’ artwork oh Halsey sat on a very ‘game of thrones’ style throne, holding a baby and dressed in regal finery. (See below – CW//Partial Nudity)

The Nine Inch Nails produced album also got a video posted on Halsey’s youtube channel, which also literally unveils the artwork from behind a red curtain, under the guise of a thirteen and a half minute walk around New York’s Metropolitan Museum Of Art. The video is silent and carries a dignified power to it as the singer wanders around the location dressed in a similar thematic outfit. Never feeling drawn out or over the top, it nails the feeling of anticipation – making it tangible for anyone who watches.

The upcoming album is being hailed as Halsey’s step into the world of punk rock, yet previous collabs of hers (e.g. Bring Me The Horizon and Yungblud) prove that she is no stranger to the genre. It will be interesting to see the usually pop-centric artists take on a more alternative sound. If the success of the likes of Olivia Rodrigo’s angsty sing-alongs tells us anything, it’s that the charts are screaming out for some alt-pop rock fusion.

Words by Ellen Oakley

Lana Del Rey teases song and album artwork for upcoming ‘Blue Banisters’

female singer, Indie-Pop, Music News, New Music, New Release, News, pop, Pop Music, Retro, Singer-Songwriter

The ‘Summertime Sadness’ singer has taken to Instagram to share little teasers for her forthcoming release ‘Blue Banisters’. She has set the tone for what will be her eighth studio album by sharing the artwork for the proposed album in an Instagram post on July 4th.

Whilst her 19.8 million followers were not given a release date; they were treated to a snippet of an unreleased song earlier that day. Accompanied with the caption “Album out later later… Single out soonish. Have a good fourth x”, the clip contains a melancholy piano piece and Lana singing the lyrics “my body is a map of LA”. The clip delivers what people can expect from the singer as her clear voice produces an emotional performance. Even just from this small snippet, fans should be excited for more of her trademark style so soon after her March 2021 release, ‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club’.

With three singles already released: ‘Wildflower wildfire’, ‘Text Book’ and the titular ‘Blue Banisters’ (all dropped May 20th), the music world should be gearing up for the album to be gifted soon. After a supposed release date of July 4th, which Del Rey gave in April of this year, who knows when it will see the light of day.

Words by Ellen Oakley

Lorde’s ‘Solar Power’ is set to be the highest new entry on the Official Singles Chart

female singer, Music News, New Music, New Release, pop, Pop Music, Singer-Songwriter, UK Music

Lorde dramatically returned to the current music landscape with her single ‘Solar Power’, which dropped June 11th, just days after announcing her upcoming album of the same title. The track, released to correspond with the solar eclipse that occurred on June 10th, came as a surprise to the world and is now set to act as the highest new entry on the official singles charts – as reported by officialcharts.com.

– Official music video –

Racking up over half a million streams since its initial drop, the single listed in the number seven position on the Official Chart: First Look, which will come to fruition on the standard official chart if the hype around the track continues. If this occurs, it will mark the singer’s second top ten UK single and her first since 2013, when ‘Royals’ dominated the charts.

The forthcoming album, ‘Solar Power’, will be Lorde’s third studio album, following on from Pure Heroine (2013) and Melodrama (2017). Initially scheduled for a release in June 2020 but delayed due to the singer’s pet dog Pearl passing suddenly, the album currently has no confirmed release date. However, the singer has seemingly hinted more natural time stamps to fans with the line “look to the natural calendar for clues”. Regardless of when it drops, ‘Solar Power’ is being described as “light, playful and fun” by Lorde herself and promises to be a moment in music pop culture after the response to the single drop.

Words by Ellen Oakley

Raya Max insists on empowerment with her 70s infused single ‘Starlight’

Disco, Music News, New Music, New Release, R&B, Retro, Review, Singer-Songwriter, Soul, UK Music

Dropping June 21st, ‘Starlight’ is a straight-up disco soul anthem that brings pure joy. It is the perfect platform for Raya Max to reach her goal of bringing “listeners’ inner disco divas back to life following the miserable time we’ve had recently”, and she more than delivers on that.

The song itself is a hundred per cent Raya as she not only wrote and sung the track but produced it too, which further infuses Raya’s infectious passion with the traditional soul song format. Whilst ‘Starlight’ is steeped in ‘old school’ influences (Jazz, Soul, Disco etc.), the message of liberation from stagnation in life is more relevant than ever and, along with the sleek production, grounds the single in the modern soundscape. The upbeat nature of the instrumental effortlessly blends with Raya’s rich vocals creating an experience that oozes joy and professionalism.

‘Starlight’ is an open, authentic offering to the world in the form of a dance along anthem. Not only is it a pick-me-up melody to bring listeners out of lockdown blues, but it is also an inclusive experience that lifts from “the flamboyance of London club culture”, creating a new influence for Raya in the LGBTQIA+ community.

Overall, ‘Starlight’ is a new optimistic track that exudes endless energy, showing the strengths of Raya Max and her potential in the UK disco soul scene. It is the perfect soundtrack for the upcoming summer, and people should be ready to stream this bop when it drops on June 21st repeatedly.

Check out Raya Max here:

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Words by Ellen Oakley

Coldplay and Jorja Smith to join already impressive lineup for Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2021

Band, female singer, Festival, indie, Indie-Pop, Music News, News, pop, Pop Music, Rock, UK Music

Taking place virtually for the second time, ‘Radio 1’s Big Weekend’ has just added more acts to its already exciting lineup. Due to Covid restrictions, the event will occur online May 28th-30th and broadcasted across BBC Radio 1, BBC Sounds, and BBC iPlayer.

Coldplay and Jorja Smith, who have just performed on the ‘Live at Worthy Farm’ Livestream on May 22nd, have been announced alongside the likes of Ed Sheeran, Royal Blood, Anne-Marie and Wolf Alice in live sets, some of which have been recorded all around the country. In addition to the live sets, there will be ten new sets from some of the biggest names in dance music.

With over a hundred performances and easy access, this will be another chance for people to enjoy live music in the wake of lockdown letting up. After ‘Live At Worthy Farm’ had to compete with Eurovision and some technical difficulties with the initial streaming, hopefully, the ‘Big Weekend’ will run smoothly and keep music fans nourished until more live music venues and events open for business.

Watch some of the performances of last year’s Big Weekend here

Words by Ellen Oakley