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Some of us may have been resting during the Xmas break, but the ICMP talent community hasn't definitely stopped working on more amazing releases.
We're very excited to start the new year and decade with a great selection of tracks from our students and alumni. Well, happy 2020 everyone!
RAFAELLA
Originally from Cyprus, the 21-year-old singer-songwriter Rafaèlla moved to the UK to pursue her career and study BMus Popular Music Performance focused on Vocals, here at ICMP. Her music career started when she was young; she used to perform alongside her father as well as with different ensembles in concerts, musical theatre, and radio shows.
"'Nobody Knows' is a pop ballad combining soul influences with a dark sound. The lyrics revolve around a secret relationship that nobody knows about and the feeling of wanting someone so bad that you tend to see them everywhere."
Listen here
SIR JAY
Sir Jay is a singer-songwriter and producer based in Helsinki, Finland, as well as one of our BA (Hons) Songwriter alumni. 'Mid July', his latest release, features a unique, organic arrangement, 9/8 rhythms and body-percussion. The song was written a year ago in the deepest darkness of Finnish winter.
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KALON
KALON is an indie-rock band formed started by Tobias Hanel and Janik Setz (Songwriting alumnus) after meeting in a bar in Berlin-Neukölln. Their new single 'Two Way Street' came out on January 17th.
"The song is about an abusive relationship in which one half is in need of all the attention and just wants everything of the other half."
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KAIYS
KAIYS aka Kaileigh Phillips (Creative Musicianship student) spent the last 12 months co-writing with people all over the world in order to refine her songwriting, featuring on as many tracks as possible. 'Mark' is her first release as a featured artist, produced by Russian hardstyle producer Betavoice and released under Dirty Workz.
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NOAM FRANK
Noam Frank is one of our Creative Musicianship students, as well as a singer-songwriter. Noam combines 90’s RnB with 2000’s pop influences, the soundtrack of her childhood which she spent between California and Tel Aviv. Her debut single 'Memory', which came out on January 17th, features our Dan Green on guitar.
"Memory is a declaration of a person that will not be played and tossed around. In a world of swiping, screen-shotting, DM-ing, people just become faded memories of low-key interactions."
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CHERMAINE
Chermaine Fraser has been singing and performing since the age of 6 and writing songs since the age of 10. While in senior school, she joined a rock band and that was when she realised she wanted to do music full time; she is currently on her third year of our BA (Hons) Songwriting programme.
"'Stand For It' is about a past relationship of mine. I didn't realise when I was writing it what it was about or where it was coming from, but as soon I completed the production and heard the final mix, I knew that subconsciously I had written about an ex who did not treat me well."
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OLINA
Originally from Greece, Olina moved to London for an internship in biology - what she graduated in - and ended up joining ICMP's Higher diploma course in Vocals. Her debut single 'Licking Your Hands' is the result of various musical influences, such as dodie, MARO, Keaton Henson and Phoebe Bridgers, blending the genres of folk, pop, and ambient music.
Listen here
CHARLIE STRANGE
From the 'Stay Home' release - featured in our Spotlight - to her latest track 'Tearing It Up', out last December, this year has seen Charlie start to release her original music.
Charlie's music is "something of a juxtaposition—blending the anthemic and the tender, the sad and the uplifting, hope and despair—a seamless yet conflicted sound suited to our strange old world", as the people at Various Small Flames rightly said.
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EDGE OF THE POSSIBILITY feat. ELLA ELIZA
Creative Music Production student Krzysztof picked a stage name that represents unlimited possibilities for composing and writing music. His latest track to be released, 'Break The Chains', also features Ella Eliza, one of our Creative Musicianship students.
"It's a song that talks about a relationship without a future. It refers to the situation in which both people know that despite mutual feelings, their relationship will not be successful, but they can not end it early enough. This results in both of them suffering from too much attachment to each other. The theme of the song is inspired by everyday life and a problem in communication about our feelings".
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JAAN HANTSON
Jaan (Creative Music Production student) and his sister - whom we already talked about in our Spotlight feature - loved this Billie Eilish song so much that they decided to record a cover and put it out there for you to stream. Check their cover of 'Lovely' in our playlist below.
"We decided to cover it just for fun and we believe it turned out pretty nice. I played all the instruments including vocals and I produced the song".
Listen here
NATA
When listening to Songwriting alumna NATA's music, you can surely hear some classical influences (she was, indeed, classically trained), as well as a more recent love for pop music. NATA defines herself as a "sad girl pop with a soft touch of orchestral elements and a flow of storytelling".
'Chocolate And Red Wine' is "a lyrical reflection about hesitation in love and blaming yourself for catching feelings for the wrong person. It is a narration of the mysterious relationship between the characters; the chocolate and the red wine act as symbolic attributes that seem to be bringing the individuals together. With that being said, the phrase ‘chocolate and red wine’ is also a strong metaphor for love."
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ADRIAN VALIA
The jazz pianist, composer, producer, and Creative Musicianship alumnus Adrian is always on the move. After recently winning the Concours Musique du R.U competition, he's now working on his first EP, which he's planning to release later on in 2020.
The latest release 'Dream' is a "crazy project about our dreams and the danger of letting them remain as such, out of reality, leaving us in a 'dream'-state. This single was completely self-produced and featured very special recording spaces, like the legendary Caveau de la Huchette - the inspiration for the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool - among others."
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CORRINA TAYLOR
As MA Songwriting student Corrina would put it, she has always loved pop music and has always written pop songs. And there she is, releasing her first song since 2016, a catchy tune called 'Under The Coca-Cola Sign'.
"The song is a romantic pop song in which I'm feeling nostalgic about a relationship I had in Sydney. We had no idea when we would ever see each other again after the night we had dancing around under the Coca-Cola sign at Kings Cross in Sydney and this song was written after I had left Sydney and we were talking about our memories together."
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VINCENT BUGOZI
Creative Musicianship student Vincent Bugozi recently recorded his second release 'Take Me' at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. The track, which follows 'Fall In Love' (over 25k streams on Spotify), combines afrobeat and reggae, afrocuban and pop.
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KITTY MONTAGUE
ICMP's Higher Diploma alumna Kitty Montague has just released her second track, 'I Kissed You Politely', another message of female empowerment.
"Inspired by the empowered women who are tired of being agreeable, this is a fear-free song that rejects the need for approval. This energetic statement is about choosing yourself, finding the strength to use your voice against forms of emotional control and coercion."
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LUKE SILVA
BA Creative Musicianship student Luca Menichetti is committed to writing and releasing as many songs as possible with the collaboration of fellow ICMP students. His latest track 'The Other Side' was written with fellow student Jasmine Feria.
"The song is about a fling that was never supposed to happen and has a moody sexy vibe to it."
Listen here
YLVA BORRE
Ylva Borre is one our Songwriting alumni from a few years back. Her music, she told us, is meant for all senses, it's meant as an experience. 'Without A Sound' is the first of many tracks Ylva is planning to release this year - all leading up to an album.
"It's more of a hopeful sound from me. I wrote about self-acceptance, growing up and finding hope and positivity in everything."
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LAUREN ALEX HOOPER
MA Songwriting alumna Lauren Alex Hooper writes songs about her personal experiences, including her life as an autistic person with mental health problems, something - she said - that isn't very common in the music industry. 'Clarity' was written with Imogen Davies and produced by Richard Marc, both ICMP alumni.
"The song was inspired by the idea of desperately chasing a person or bad habit, a habit that you know is harmful, to find some sort of relief from all of the difficult emotions in life."
Listen here
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Don't forget to follow our Release Radar playlist on Spotify to listen to all the newly released tracks by the ICMP community.
Are you about to release new music?
We are always happy to help promote the newest releases by the ICMP community. To get featured on our website and social media, together with other students and alumni, simply submit your music via the link below.