23-year-old singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin, born and bred in Montreal, spent her childhood learning piano and taking singing lessons. Her parents introduced Charlotte and her older sister to rock ‘n’ roll on car rides and around the house. Charlotte was inspired by everyone from Radiohead to Etta James to Celine Dion, and as a teenager she started writing her own songs for fun.
Her latest effort is Main Girl, an EP featuring three songs from last year’s Canadian release Big Boy, as well as a handful of new tunes. Simple and sparse, Charlotte’s songs focus on her unique voice, and the purposely minimal production showcases her ability to craft emotionally wrought tunes that linger in the listener’s head.
“Human beings, in general, inspire me,” she says. “I find them quite intriguing. If I meet someone new and they make me feel a certain way I’m going to write about it and it’s going to transform into a story that may have not necessarily happened.”
Los Angeles based band Loud Forest is fronted by married couple Bernard and Rachel Chadwick. Equally matched as singers and performers, they craft an eclectic mix of songs that can both swirl and drive, minimal rock drums and melodic singing is supported by electric guitars and textures that create a sonic landscape while infusing classic folk and gospel elements.
Bernard and Rachel have very different styles of songwriting, Rachel is abstract and experimental while Bernard is more direct. It is in the studio collaborating with other talented musicians, Alex Strahle, Carlen Walth and Steve Wilmot, that the pieces come together.
After the triumphant success of his Home For Now EP, Melbourne singer-songwriter Benji Lewis has a brand new single to share with his followers called “Deep Blue”, which was produced by acclaimed Brisbane-based beatmaker Golden Vessel.
This track is taken off Benji Lewis’s forthcoming EP Together Apart, to be released later this year. 2018 is already looking very good for the young artist as he recently announced that he would be making his SXSW debut in just a few weeks alongside some top-tier artists. If you’re heading along, be sure to add him to your “must-see” list.
Half-Austrian/half-Russian Valerio Dittrich aka MOTSA returns with the spellbinding “Falling”, featuring the guest vocals of Leiik’s Amy Spencer. This is the first taste of his forthcoming debut album and sets a remarkable standard for the music to follow. With his signature glistening soundscapes and soulful choruses ever present, the track stands as one of his best to date.
“Falling” follows the success of the Petricolour EP released on MOTSA’s imprint of the same name in November 2016. As a treat, here is the song “Petrichor” featuring Sophie Lindinger.
Amassing over 5 million streams on Spotify, MOTSA is a testament to creating a successful DIY label that has caught the attention of not only press and tastemakers, but peers who have requested his stunning remix work such as Submotion Orchestra, SG Lewis, Flamingods, Denai Moore, The 2 Bears, to name a few.
The Linedots are a multi-talented London duo made up Evangeline Ling and Kevin Emre, who released their first track “Waterfall” back in 2014. Following two years of silence, the pair shared the impressive and powerful “Small Talk”, featuring Ling’s velvety and somewhat nonchalant vocals combined with Emre’s hypnotic beats.
Their next single “Indigo” was released a few months later, in November 2016, and once again it showcased the duo’s knack for seriously entrancing melodies paired with pitch-perfect production.
