Release Radar: March 2021

The ICMP community never stops surprising us and, once again, they have provided the best monthly soundtrack we could ever wish for!

Here is a great selection of tracks being released this month. Follow our playlist to not miss out on any new tracks by our students and alumni.

ZELHA • Empty Calls

BA Creative Musicianship student Zelha is a half Belgian and half Mexican pop singer-songwriter and artist. Zelha always saw the world differently and used music to escape everyday life. She always tried to stay out of the spotlight which meant that singing and later on writing became a way for her to talk about what she couldn’t express otherwise. 

The song ‘Empty Calls’ describes the awkward situation of someone liking you but it’s not reciprocated. This song was written by Ella Tobin, Bette and Zelha (all ICMP students) and was produced by Jack Gourlay.

"It revolves around the feeling of wanting to escape the moment of having to tell them because you don’t want to hurt them."

LISTEN HERE

WILL REUBIN • cantwaitagain

Will Reubin (MA Creative Music Production) is a multi-instrumentalist and producer. In 2021 he'll be releasing 4 EPs and a remix LP for a series entitled 'Perceptions'. He's also busy with 3 collaborative projects for which he performed, produced, and engineered, due to be released in the second half of the year.

'cantwaitagain' is the main track of his second EP release: "It was improvised one part at a time over the course of 1 hour. It was a way for me to channel so much of the frustration of lockdown I was feeling at the time. The other two tracks are cinematic ambient songs that help to frame the main song."

LISTEN HERE

POSE • Ten Miles

POSE is a four-piece band led by Jessica Montgomery (BA Creative Musicianship). They have recently released their debut single 'Ten Miles' which has already been played on BBC introducing Wales and Amazing Radio USA. Adam Walton from BBC Wales described them as "something from 4AD but with teeth and claws."

The song was written by Jessica, Ryan Lee, and Richard Stephenson and features drums from George Whittington (BMus Popular Music Performance alumn) and was mixed by Wes Burton (BA Creative Music Production alumn).

"It is about the unfortunate state of being physically attracted to someone who you are not on the same wavelenth as."

LISTEN HERE

VAARAPANDIS • Marcin Nicklewicz

VAARAPANDIS is an atmospheric synth-pop duo formed by Emmi Vaara and Adrianos Pandis (MA Songwriting) in 2021.
Combining dark 80’s synth and acoustic guitar sounds, along with a non-traditional rhythm section consisted mainly of house pieces of equipment, they’re telling stories of the subconscious and the mundane.

Their debut single, 'Marcin Nicklewicz', was released in February 2021 as part of their forthcoming EP ‘Kids of Kilburn’.

"A home-recorded and self-produced track with references to 1980 sound and pop culture. It was written for a co-writing assignment and inspired the concept behind the project. ”

LISTEN HERE

NOAH HORNE • Satellites

BA Creative Musicianship alumn Noah Horne is a queer pop singer, songwriter, harpist, K-pop writer/producer and actor based in London. Noah's music takes visual and sonic influences from Ava Max and PC Music artists including Hannah Diamond and the late SOPHIE. Blending celestial electronic synth sounds with digitalised vocals and harp, Noah creates an alienating soundscape that mirrors the homophobic bullying and isolating experiences faced as a teenager.  

Mastered at the iconic Abbey Road Studios and co-written/produced by BA Songwriting alumnus Josh Barrett (JUUICE), 'Satellites', Noah's latest release, has been added to independent LGBTQ+ Spotify playlists, as well as premiered by US blog Buzz Music LA and - once lockdown is over - it will be spun in LGBTQ+ clubs in the USA and Brazil!

LISTEN HERE

KAT KIKTA • I Let You Go

Kat Kikta (BA and MA Songwriting) is a multi-dimensional artist, singer and songwriter. Her creativity straddles music, film and sound art. Through her use of organically found and electronic beats, her own field recordings and multi-layered vocals, she creates pop songs pervaded with cinematic and ambient intentions. 

'I Let You Go' is about returning to yourself after breaking free from the 'wrong one’. It is about that strength that can only be summoned when you’re at your wit’s end and you realise how much you really value yourself and your own life and the true cost of being where you become apparent. 

“Rather than mourned and regretted, the act of letting go of a dysfunctional relationship can also be celebrated and done with love, it can be an act of love – which is what I hope my listeners will feel.”

LISTEN HERE

1606 • Hunting Faces

BA Creative Musicianship student Ana Sredic aka 1606 (sixteen-o-six) is a singer/songwriter and a guitarist from Zagreb, Croatia. Making music without labelling it with a genre, you will never know what to expect from this seemingly, all-over-the-place artist. 

"''Hunting Faces"' is about feeling lost after having your loved one betray you, but the aim is to make you remember your worth. "

LISTEN HERE

HUSTLE 501 • Can You See Me Now?

The trio, featuring Fabrizio Toccaceli (BMus Popular Music Performance) is a classic rock band whose sound moves fluidly through a few different subgenres, from grunge to punk, from blues to funk, the song informs the genre and not the other way around. 

'Can you see me now?' is a funk rock song with a groovy rhythm section on the verses and catchy country melodies on the choruses. The lyrics give a portrait of a usual saturday night in Rome; everybody's having fun, nobody is wasting time.

LISTEN HERE