It's Lydia again! This week, I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite, more unknown music artists. My music collection is a vast one, to say the least. My Spotify is a place of organised chaos. It can take you from Bring Me the Horizon down to Elvis Presley and to be totally honest with you, half the time I don't even know what's on there! This is largely why I struggle with the question of "what's your favourite kind of music?". If I had to describe it, I'd say it's mostly Pop/Indie with the odd alternative rock song thrown in there. For the music I'm going to share with you today, it's going to be along similar lines. However, if you're lucky, I may take this deep into other music genres in the future so keep your eyes open!
Thank you to both Krystle and Baileyyrosee for the layout and the coding!
Bishop Briggs is an artist suggested to me a few days ago by fellow NT member, Hailee, when I was talking to her about my article idea. She is a British, Californian-based singer, born in London to Scottish parents and later moving to Tokyo and Hong Kong. Her passion for pursuing music was inspired by the karaoke bars of Tokyo, Motown musicians and The Beatles. She is said to be an indie pop/alternative rock artist. Her music style is very unique, for me personally. I find it's powerful yet laidback. When researching about her, I also came across this: When performing live, she does not talk to the audience much—in her words, "our whole goal is to make people really listen to the music and the lyrics and take their own interpretation from it." I think it's always amazing when artists allow their work to take on new meanings to everyone it touches. Some of my other favourites include: Wild Horses and Be Your Love.
Number one on my list is one of my most recent discoveries, and that is LÉON. She is categorised as 'contemporary pop' with 'classic sounds of the 60s and 80s without being entrenched in the past'. A Swedish singer who, in 2015, aged 21 released her debut single "Tired of Talking". I found out about her when Buzzfeed (judge me if you want, idc) made an article about songs to add to your January 2017 playlist. I fell in love with her instantly! Her songs are incredibly catchy but also very relaxing. She is also very refreshing compared to what's in the typical Top 40's - at least to me, haha. Her songs are upbeat yet still meaningful, in a way that I find is very unbalanced in a lot of chart music. 'Tired of Talking' is my probably my favourite that I have listened to so far. However, my other favourites include Treasure and Nobody Cares - both of which are from her debut album, Treasure EP. I myself am still discovering LÉON, and I hope that you guys enjoy her music and discover her talent with me.
Some of you may or may not recognise this pairing as one that I have been recommending around VP for a couple of months now. They are a two-piece Art Rock (experimental rock) band from Toronto, Canada, whose band name was inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The band has been through multiple changes throughout its existence, since forming in 2007, with changes and their sound. It is said that their newest album, Centerfold, (the album in which my favourite songs are taken from) is a drastic shift in sound from their previous records. I honestly adore their newest sound. There's something about it that just makes you want to get up and dance - and I hate to dance. It says a lot, haha. I have yet to truly look into the meanings of their songs, but just the lyrics and beats are enough to carry you away with them. My other favourites of theirs include Virtual Reality and San Diego, 1988.
Stromae is going to be a hit-or-miss for some, but I couldn't help but add him to this article. He is an artist from Belgium, who sings in French and his music is amazing. I found him around 4 years ago now when I was still learning French in high school, after my teacher recommended listening to French radio/music for practice. I don't learn the language anymore, but I still listen to Stromae (as well as other French artists) for fun now. His songs have such meaning to them and always strike a chord with me. The one that I linked, Papaoutai, roughly translates as "Daddy, where are you?" when written in proper French grammar (Papa, où es-tu). The phrase is written outside of the proper French grammar as the song is written from the point of view of a child, who when learning French would write the term as papaoutai - the way that the phrase is pronounced but not spelled. The song is about a child abandoned by their father. When I first heard the song, I just thought of it as a really catchy song, but upon learning the meaning, it really grabbed me. It's such an interesting view to take the song, to not just write about his past but to write about it as he felt as a child. It's a type of emotion that isn't often found anymore. Some of my other Stromae favourites include Formidable and carmen.
My final suggestion to you all is another one of my favourites from last year, and that is the band, Flor. In terms of who Flor are, I don't know a lot. They are a fairly new band, but they are certainly on the rise, after touring with the likes of Halsey. The band consists of four members; Zach, Dylan, Kyle and Mckinley, who are all from Hood River, Oregon but are now based in California. The song that I linked is their newest. However, I fell in love with the band long before. Their use of synth with pop music is something I really love about them. They use synth, but it doesn't sound forced or auto-tuned, etc. It sounds like merely another instrument and I definitely find that this band are not as appreciated as they should be! The songs that I fell in love with originally are Heart, Warm Blood and Let Me In.