Brynja is infectious on the soulful My Oh My. A sultry draw with jazzy roots and elegant control, her voice is a vibe on its own. She injects subtle rhythms known to hip hop into this Neo soul with graceful presence. The overall presentation receives as an adaption of alternative R&B with acoustic instruments mixed into a tempo palette known to chill pop and lofi beats. The style has crossover appeal and should please a widespread indie audience addicted to genre blends and artists who wear diverse influences.
The Iceland native is an unassuming delight. My Oh My drips with urban swagger. This insatiable groove and updated design reimagines how Amy Winehouse might sound within a modern sonic palette. It also connects with recent works by Biig Piig and should please the alternative R&B community at large. Brynja is hypnotic with dance floor instincts drawn from her upbringing as an aspiring dancer. Her style is rare and exotic, injected with attitude and confidence. It’s lifted by a pro performance. Brynja is not to be underestimated.
Enjoy My Oh My now on our Emerging Folk Playlist
We woke in a dream. Time to Wake III is the first cinematic treasure to reset our imagination. It kickoffs Phoebe Katis new album To Feel The Rain. Like that first Mai Thai sunset after 8 months between your four wall office, Katis is refreshing. A rare feel good delight, Phoebe is savory sweet. There’s a hint of Broadway like on the pensive Manifesto. Katis flirts with our cinematic hearts on expressive moments like Always Be Around. The minimalistic textured design of spiritual voices and bare bouncing string set an elegant backdrop for her picture perfect vocal. It’s a spiritual moment, and a highlight of this collection.
Featuring several previously released singles, To Feel The Rain (the album) prescribes to a minimalistic ethos where every contribution has duality as both melodic function and textural atmosphere. Enlisting A list studio players like Solomon Dorsey (Vulfpeck) and Dave Mackay (Lucius), Katis spares no creative luxury. Moments of catchy bliss like It’s a Good Thing intersect her pension for serene sentimental ballads. There’s evidence of Paul Simon, Norah Jones, and Carole King mixed with the history of classic musicals and movie anthems, most notably the rich orchestrated title track To Feel The Rain.
Phoebe Katis is not afraid to get complicated, with big compositions that would win academic accolades. What strikes us, is her mastery. That makes it real, and undeniable. Like when she sings “At the core of every person, Love will always be around.”
Checkout the entire collection. Get started with Always Be Around now on our Emerging Folk Playlist.
Her Skin is 25-year-old prolific singer songwriter, Sara Ammendolia. She recently released an impressive 9 song album I Started A Garden. The Italian musical shapeshifter pulls from an expansive stylistic palette. The album arrives with the retrospective bones, a somber acoustic reflection on her insecurities. “I’m still fighting with myself, this will probably never end.” The vibe recalls works by Jose Gonzelez, with an exotic rhythmic underlayer and an inflection of mystery.
Not to hang around one sonic sentiment too long, Sara picks up the pace on the subsequent confident. An indie rock design with songwriter intention, it recalls works by Kathleen Edwards and Feist. Ammendolia is charming in her delivery, with a soft but piercing vocal presence that cuts through the harmonious layers.
The dynamic approach to the two opening tracks introduces a consistent theme throughout the record. Her Skin is melancholy and beautiful, joining a movement in sad girl rock that includes emerging artists like Girlhouse and Clairo. She matches their penchant for innovative, eclectic songwriting. Her Skin connects with a generation eager to find self worth in an over analystic world routinely picking them apart in an over-sexualized society. The search for truth and an attempt to reclaim herself drives I started a garden.
The whole album is beautiful. Get started with bones now on our Emerging Folk Playlist.
Frank Rabeyrolles is haunting on his new single Merry Go Round. With his soft voice and patient presence Rabeyrolles is poetic as the music evolves in tandem with his lyrical cues. Merry Go Round suggests 60s influences like Simon and Garfunkel and even Syd Barrett, with the modern indie feel known to Elliot Smith and Sufjan Stevens. It’s both melancholy and playful, with bell like guitar leads detailing harmonic highlights within the songs melodic design. The sentiment is embellished on the singles accompanying video.
The video reenforces Rabeyrolles mantra as an artist first. Experimental and beyond convention, the music and the video together stir an internal conversation. We found a narrative akin to our recent restrictive struggles, the peril of lockdown and how it bred insanity. Merry Go Round addresses the irony of it all. This picturesque landscape and envious domain is the conceptual “all you ever wanted.” It recalls that moment of discovery, and the release of manufactured frustrations that burden us. Solace in a familiar song, or an unfamiliar book, are really icing on the cake. The flowers or a passing sky were enough to quiet the noisy turmoil, everything after is part of the humble existential celebration.
Enjoy Merry Go Round now on our Emerging Folk Playlist
The Wild Is Calling 