After an extended break away from the blogging side of things, The Sound Sniffer returns with a list of some of the songs that have stood out over the last couple of months. The submissions inbox raced past ten thousand submissions in September and although I haven’t been sharing much recently, plenty of stuff is still happening in the background. I’m going to share a regular lockdown mixtape series up on the site: we are looking at another month indoors, hopefully some of these songs resonate.
Lets get into it then, here are some tracks that impressed me from the submissions: Welcome to lockdown mixtape #001 :
Bad Actor / I Will Never Fall
Bad Actor is a singer, songwriter and producer who hails from Brazil. He is a well travelled lad and has spent stints living in India, Germany and the UK. He has been hiding away for years, mostly in his basement, sculpting his sound – a fine sound. I Will Never Fall is one such construction and it is pretty satisfying on the ear.
Genre: Indie Electronic/Pop
Freyr / Avalon
Freyr is a songwriter born in Umeá, a city nestled in the mellow and tranquil forests of Northern Sweden. His musical sound reflects the rural and scenic surroundings of his upbringing. Avalon is soft folk, somewhere in the realm between Nick Mulvey and Dustin Tebbutt. In these stressful times, Avalon is a welcome addition to the playlist.
Genre: Folk / Indie Folk
Deca X Ciggy / High Wire
I’ve been listening to this song for weeks now, I love this slow, methodical rap type thing. I had a phase back in my younger years where myself and my friends would mime the lyrics of Obie Trice’ ‘The Set Up’ into a webcam while acting gangster on the family computer. It was a phase and one my parents must have cringed at. Over time, my obsession with rap subsided.
Artists like Loyle Carner and DC have put me back on rap a little of late. This single from NYC based producer Ciggy and rapper Deca hits the spot also. Brilliant flow!
Genre: Hip Hop / Rap
Flostate / Home Ground
Electro soul is what they call this new blend – it’s the business. Flostate are a duo consisting of vocalist/harpist Avery Florence and MKSTN, together they are making dreamy, luscious soundscapes. Home Ground is a stunning track and one I’ve had on repeat myself recently. Looking forward to hearing more from this dynamic duo soon.
Genre: Electro Soul / Indie Electronic
Lisa Gorry / Fleeting
Irish songwriter Lisa Gorry is one of Ireland’s finest musicians. Her skills are fully on show in her latest EP, titled, Is it me? My standout pick from the new bank of work is undoubtedly the second track, Fleeting. Soft, emotive and poignant – Gorry is a gem.
Genre: Folk
Prep / Danny Came Up
This is one hell of a slick tune here from PREP. To be honest, I hadn’t come across their music before clicking on this tune in my inbox. Absolutely dig the electronic elements in here, the bassline is infectious too. A quirky and super listenable track. The keyboard solo in the mid-section is well worth bobbing your head to. Have a go, you might like this – I do.
Genre: Indie Pop / Indie Electronic
Nectvr / Gettin’ Loose
Something really cool coming out of Switzerland lately, a reasonably new label called Diffract Records (founded in 2017) are releasing lots of instrumental gold. They’ve just released a brilliant new compilation album called ‘Rhuba‘ and it opens with this gem from Nectvr (co-founder of Frameworks Recordings). Gettin’ Loose is a really well produced track with a clean, crisp sound. I get Nicolas Jaar NYC Boiler Room vibes of it. Nectvr is not the only high quality artist featured on Rhuba – Mononome and il:lo also chip in. If you like this track, do some research and give Diffract a follow.
Genre: Instrumental / Instrumental Hip-Hop
About ‘The Sound Sniffer’
The Sound Sniffer is a one-man music blog which is still only a baby – Founded and run by Kevin Coakley in early 2019. He is a music writer and ghostwriter. ‘The Sound Sniffer’ also runs gigs and showcases in London since Oct 2019. The showcases are picked from artists I find in my submissions inbox.
Check out my Interviews HERE
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