MUST LISTEN 052
Every week, we’ll be bringing you MUST LISTEN: a series that's a compilation of rising artists along with songs that must be added to your everyday playlist. However, for our one year of MUST LISTEN we’re bringing you the ten artists who have been on our radar for the past year. Each of these artists has been pushing the envelope and paving their way to becoming the future of music.
THE BLOSSOM
Photo: Conor Cunningham
THE BLOSSOM, the moniker for LA-based Lily Lizotte, is redefining her sound with a combination of shoegaze, hip-hop, grunge, and pop elements sprinkled throughout their debut 97 BLOSSOM. Touching on themes of insecurity, dysphoria, depression, anxiety, gender identity, and anxiety comes from a perspective of pure raw emotion. We see a deep dreamer as THE BLOSSOM finds songwriting and producing to be a cathartic release; wrapping her heavy, existential doubts up into a beautiful and concise six-track release.
BREE RUNWAY
Photo: Charlotte Rutherford
The popstar we desperately need right now, Bree Runway has been a cult favorite who is just on the brink of global domination. We’ve enjoyed her rise and feel lucky to witness a once-in-a-lifetime talent garner the well-deserved attention. Her latest single, “HOT HOT,” arrives right as the weather changes and as the antsy quarentiners look for an anthem to let loose to.
BRONZE AVERY
Photo: Bronze Avery
Bronze Avery is defining what it means to be a pop-star. Still fresh into his career, the rising star is making waves by being unapologetically queer, delivering fresh, powerfully structured pop songs, and giving back to his communities. Avery has his hands in producing, writing, and creating the visuals for tracks all across his discography. His talents and skills know no bounds, and we’re more than ready to see what he has in store for us next.
DRAAG
Photo: Devonte Johnson
San Fernando Valley natives released quite possibly one of the best covers EP of 2020. Right in the midst of quarantine, the band accumulated a six-cover-songs weekly drop that included some of their personal influences. These covers do what ideally every good cover should do: pay homage to the original while taking it in a different direction, and the results on the Lansing (Vinyl Williams Cover) and CCLL (Goon Cover) speak for themselves. The California indie-shoegaze quintet is definitely one to watch for with their follow up project already in the works.
ERIKA DE CASIER
Photo: Dennis Morton
Erika De Casier’s 2019 debut album Essentials, featuring soft vocals and introspective lyrics that are heavily seasoned with 90’s instrumentation, has made her into a quiet star amongst music fans. The Danish songwriter and producer made her mark by combining the past with the present and gave us what the future of Dance could sound like. After recently announcing her sophomore album, Sensational, set to be released this May, the artist gives us a clean slate as we eagerly anticipate having this one on repeat just like we did the first.
FLWR CHYLD
Photo: Sebastian Mikael
Following the well-deserved success and appraisal of his second EP, Flow, Flwr Chyld continues to outperform and surpass our expectations of his undeniable talent. With his gifted ear for collaborations and genius production skills, he has started the year off with “Lucky Me,” righteously titled for his fans who mirror the feeling as they get to experience the Atlanta native’s flourishing musical journey, destined to only end at the top.
NOA SAINZ
Photo: Thania Diaz
Mexico City-based singer and songwriter, Noa Sainz, a.k.a. Regina Isabel Vallejo, is shaping and pushing boundaries in the R&B space. In her latest EP, MAYDAY!, we can tune in and appreciate a project that contains a compilation of tracks ranging from experimental hip-hop to alternative R&B–some even on the border of neo-soul. It goes without saying that Noa Sainz is wildly talented; a young Mexican icon that is constantly evolving her sound and leaving us on the edge of our seats for the release of her future projects.
RAMRIDDLZ
Photo: PK
Delivering an onslaught of some of the most melodic, genre-blending songs since 2015, Ramriddlz’s rise to popularity and mainstream recognition is long overdue. The Mississauga native is single-handedly responsible for being one of the firsts to flawlessly bridge the gap between R&B, hip-hop, and dancehall–a trend that has taken over the charts in the last few years. With his mastery of innuendoes, transverse lingo, and versatility, we continue to excitedly watch Ramriddlz reinvent himself with each new release.
RODNEY CHROME
Photo: Eric Hart
Rodney Chrome knows no boundaries; his genre-defying work seamlessly crosses between R&B, rap, and electronic music, while somehow being a link to the past and displaying the sounds of the future. On his debut, QUEEER PRESSURE, the rising star unapologetically breaks barriers leaping through genres and styles so seamlessly while at the same time displaying the societal struggles that queer individuals face in a neatly packed 12-track album.
spill tab
Since spill tab’s debut in 2019, the French-Korean virtuoso has already racked up quite the list of accomplishments. With the release of her project Oatmilk, cosigns from the likes of Apple Music’s Zane Lowe and BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, and a record deal with Arista Records, spill tab has become one of our favorites to watch over the past year. Known for her bilingual melodies and enchanting writing, she and collaborator marinelli continue to build an eclectic world of their own that we’re lucky to get a peek into.