WATCH: Say Yes Dog - 'Feel Better'

Fresh from supporting one of my favourite artists, Fil Bo Riva, on tour, German-Luxembourgish trio Say Yes Dog have shared the third single to be taken from their album Voyage, which is out now. Feel Better is a catchy slice of electro-pop, bringing 80s influences to the sound and video, which was directed by Adam Sait. 

Talking about the video, the band explain that “When we finished to produce ‘Feel Better’, we felt we needed a second layer to the upbeat vibe of the track to make it visually more fascinating. When we got Adam Sait on board to direct our video, he introduced to us the idea of turning the hook of the chorus into a liberating mantra, giving the song a more twisted take. [...] we let Adam follow his instinct and create an imagery for the song: the outcome is a silly, dopey representation of it. We feel that most of the time it is better and more natural not to take yourself too seriously rather than create an overly constructed vision of yourself and your song".

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LISTEN: Wovoka Gentle - 'Tell 'Em, Makoto!'

A little (very) late sharing this one, but here's the latest from London trio Wovoka Gentle (William J. Stokes and twins Imogen and Ellie Mason). Tell 'Em, Makoto! is taken from their debut album Start Clanging Cymbals, which is due for release on 7th June via Nude Records. With inspiration from the psychedelic sounds of the late 60s, the trio use sampling, sound manipulation and classic instrumentation to create some really unique sounds. New track Tell 'Em, Makoto! is impressive in its vastness and variety.

Will explains that the track is inspired by the book Culture Care by Makoto Fujimura. "He talks about Mahalia Jackson and how people like her exist on the periphery of influence; they exert influence on people who are actual influencers, and that's the role of art in society. And Mahalia Jackson is a good allegory for him. She was next to Martin Luther King during a speech that was flagging and she shouted to him, 'Tell that about the dream, Martin!' And that's how the 'I Have A Dream' speech started."

Wovoka Gentle launch their debut album Start Clanging Cymbals at London's Corsica Studios on 5th June - tickets here.

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LISTEN: Malihini - 'Delusional Boy'

Rome-based lo-fi pop duo Mahilini (Giampaolo Speziale and Federica Caiozzo) have shared their new track Delusional Boy, taken from their upcoming debut album Hopefully, Again. The record is due for release via Memphis Industries on 8th March - it's shaping up to be a brilliant day for new releases with records from Foals, Stella Donnelly, Indoor Pets and Ten Fé due then too! The record was written in Sicily and recorded at the remote Giant Wafer Studios in Wales, produced by Richard Formby (Wild Beasts, Ghostpoet) and subsequently mixed by Ewan Pearson.

The duo, who both contribute to the writing process, traverse the line between creating incredibly personal tracks about their own experiences as a couple, and delivering their fans with universally relatable lyrics. In this particular song I am very much a fan of the overriding guitar rhythm that weaves it's way through the track, proving almost as catchy as the chorus itself is. The blend of the pair's vocals is pretty beautiful too.

In press I received for the track, the story of the pair meeting read so much like a TV show or movie that I just have to share... they first met around 5am one morning back in 2015, when Speziale was driving back to Rome and picked up Caiozzo hitchhiking - "I took her home - she was having a hard time with her ex-boyfriend [...] I didn't see her again for two or three months, but then we met by chance at a concert. We sort of avoided each other at first... eventually we spoke and later we went back to her house. We've been together ever since." It took a while for the pair to work together artistically, initially deciding not to play or sing together at all, but on a trip through Europe, they decided "Why not? So we started writing ideas for songs and ended up playing shows together in small bars along the way."

Pre-order Hopefully, Again from Malihini here!

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LISTEN: Park Hotel - 'Going West'

Digging this tune from my inbox from post-electronic dance band Park Hotel who launched the track with a sold out single launch show at The Lexington back in June. Centring around the duo Tim Abbey and Rebeca Marcos-Roca, the band explore "the mirrorball-noir territory between alternative arena electronica and wired downtown songwriting", resulting in a funky tune and this glorious music video, a collaboration with artist Henry. Henry joins them as support act this Thursday when they headline The Pickle Factory in London (14th September - tickets here) - as a live outfit they expand into a six piece with three way vocal harmonies, two guitars, drums, percussion and keyboards - check out a live video here and keep an ear to the ground for new tunes if you're digging this as much as I am!