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RAYE – Genesis.
After making history at The BRIT Awards in March with not one, not two, not three, not four, not five but six wins, the most in a single year by any artist, including the first-ever female Songwriter of the Year, RAYE has dropped a 7-minute masterpiece!
RAYE said “There is a Nina Simone quote, ‘It is an artist’s duty to reflect the times’. This quote is everything to me and I believe the best way I can try to do this is through my art and my music,” and “There is so much darkness and pain in this world we live in, and I wanted to create something both as deeply personal and as raw as I could find myself to be about my own mind and the world I see around me. The song is a 7-minute piece that I have crafted and scrutinised over the last year and a half, experimenting with different genres and sonic expressions, beneath all the layers and the lyrics, the underlying message is ‘Let There Be Light’. It is a prayer and a plea and a cry for help and I really hope this song will be able to bring some hope, the way this music does for me, to those who need it most.” <3
Eminem – Houdini
Guess who’s back? Back again?
Eminem obvs, with Houdini, and fun fact: Houdini is produced by Eminem himself and features a sample and interpolation of Steve Miller Band’s 1982 hit, Abracadabra (oh that was 2 fun facts soz). Before he dropped it, Eminem teased the bop on social media in a FaceTime with David Blaine – the clip ended with the magician eating a wine glass (lol) and Em declaring, “Well, for my last trick, I’m gonna make my career disappear.” Omg I hope this doesn’t mean this is his last ever album?! Surely not.
The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) will be Eminem’s 12th album and his first album since 2020’s Music to Be Murdered By and I can’t wait, we’ve not got a release date yet though but it’s coming out in the summer so hopefully any day now!
YES YES & Louis III – Rollercoaster
Singer and song writer Louis III said he wrote Rollercoaster originally for Jason Derulo and it does sounds like a Jason Derulo song actually, but, I know I’m obsessed with Eurovision but hear me out, this would be a perfect bop for Eurovision too I reckon! Rollercoaster is a vibrant dancey summery track that blends elements of dance and pop.
Working with Eetu Rantakokko and Tino Lainisalo aka YES YES, released under Soave Records, this song invites listeners to hop on an emotional ride with its pulsating beats and catchy melodies. The track opens with a lively beat that immediately sets the tone. The synths and percussion create an infectious rhythm, perfect for the dance floor.
Louis III deliver smooth vocals that blend seamlessly with the instrumental. The build-up gradually intensifies, leading to an exhilarating drop. It’s impossible not to move to the infectious grooooooooove.
Natasha Hamilton – Edge Of Us
OMG this is a comeback that we didn’t know we needed! After a 16 year break, Natasha Hamilton from platinum selling Atomic Kitten has dropped her solo debut Edge of Us and her voice sounds so good-it really does. I’m kinda obsessed.
Natasha’s powerful vocals resonate as an anthem of resilience, encouraging listeners to find their inner strength and make bold choices. She sings about overcoming tough times and celebrating the courage to say enough is enough, and basically dump your partner if you’re not being treated how you should be treated!
Natasha said: “Edge of Us marks a thrilling homage to the torturous feelings that haunt you when it comes to the end of a relationship. It delves into the depths of all emotions and feelings, yet ultimately celebrates the courage to say “enough” and walk away from what no longer aligns with you. This song resonates as a powerful anthem of resilience, inspiring people to embrace their inner strength and make bold, transformative choices.” YASSS, we’ve all been there and sometimes we just need a push.
Edge of Us is an iconic step for Tash, and it’s great to see her smashing it as a soloist!
Adam Lambert – CVNTY
International superstar and LGBTQ+ trailblazer Adam Lambert has entered his horny era and I’ll be honest, I’ve been waiting for this since the For Your Entertainment days. CVNTY is part of Adam’s upcoming EP titled AFTERS which embraces modern queer culture with pulsating beats and cheeky lyrics. I love the word cheeky btw.
Previous released tracks Lube and Wet Dream, as well as CVNTY, are all perfect for the dance floor. Adam said “Creating AFTERS has been such a liberating experience as I chose to craft an EP of house music that’s unapologetically queer and sex positive. I throw many house parties and my aim was to create a soundtrack inspired by wild nights, giving a voice to our communities’ hedonistic desires and exploits. Feeling more confident than ever, I wanted to get shamelessly raw and real with the listener. AFTERS is meant to make you move, sweat, fantasise and connect!” Ooh lala.
With a career marked by groundbreaking performances and an unwavering dedication to LGBTQ+ advocacy, Adam continues to push the boundaries of what it means to be a queer artist in today’s music industry and I’ll be honest with you huns, I’ve always been and will forever be a Glambert, hbu?
Confidence Man – I CAN’T LOSE YOU
If you didn’t know, the band is fronted by Sugar Bones (aka Aidan Moore) and Janet Planet (aka Grace Stephenson). They are backed by masked producers Clarence McGuffie (aka Sam Hales) and Reggie Goodchild (aka Lewis Stephenson).
In a press release, Sugar Bones explains the album’s title: “It’s 3am, it’s never not 3am, and we party all the time.” Janet Planet adds: “We pretty much wrote every single song when we were wrecked. We’d get blasted and stay up till 9am coming up with music, but we noticed that 3am was the hottest time for when we were on it and the best ideas were coming out.”
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Becky Hill – Believe Me Now?
Becky Hill or Boppy Hill as me and my boyfriend call her hehehe has dropped her sophomore album and it’s literally bop after bop (hence Boppy Hill).
Becky’s delving deeper into dance music now YAY, honestly this album is my gym workout album right now so thanks Becks! Following more commercial radio hits such as Remember with David Guetta.
Becky said “When we did Remember, the idea was to be as overly saturated on radio as possible, to get people to link the dots on who I was and what music I did. We definitely did that and it was a great move commercially,” she said. “But I felt like I’d become a bit of a radio commodity.”
For this era Becky said she wanted to try and get “some cool points back”, an idea that prompted the drum and bass banger Disconnect with Chase & Status. Becky said “It’s not that I don’t like my own music”, “But I’m very immersed in dance culture and I wanted to have a new body of work that didn’t isolate the commercial by any means but fitted a little better into the dance world. The new album is still great pop songs – I can’t write anything other than pop music – but it’s teamed up with a weightier, purer production and I can’t wait to see what people think of it.”
Becky recalled speaking to Polydor president Ben Mortimer and telling him that she wanted to go more dancey on the production with this record. “I said to him, ‘I’m always gonna make commercial music but I just want it to be a little bit cooler and less try-hard and a lot more heads-y,’” she said. “I want to be an artist. This is my artist era and I hope it’s as successful as my chart era.”
Becks is super lucky to have such a great relationship with her label, where she signed in 2017, following a short stint as an independent act after parting ways with Parlophone in 2014. “They’re amazing because they see how scared I am and they try to reassure me that they’re not gonna leave me, at least not any time soon anyway,” and “The whole relationship has really been lovely because they just see that I want to sell loads of records for them and for me. It’s been a bit of a journey with this album and it’s been lovely that I’ve had the label behind me.”
“I think it’s quite notorious that dance albums don’t do much in terms of sales and people not really giving a shit,” she reasoned. “I’d like to buck that trend, I’d like it to be the dance album that brings it back home for dance music.”
“I’m a hard motherfucker, I am such a bad bitch,” she declared. “I have worked my fucking arse off and I’m still here 12 years later to make a second record when a lot of people thought I was going to fall by the wayside. I’m completely unstoppable and I’m completely unbreakable and this is just the beginning.”
My favourite tracks are, well this is easy, all of them! I do really love True Colours though, a collaboration with Self Esteem‘s Rebecca Taylor. It tackles the sensitive topic of sexual assault, but with a defiant and empowering spirit and it’s still dancey and fun too. This ability to balance raw emotions with danceable grooves really is a hallmark of the album.
I love Darkest Hour too, Outside Of Love, Never Be Alone (with Sonny Fodera), Multiply, Swim, Man Of My Dreams, Linger (loveeeee this one actually, it makes me wanna go hard on the treadmill-not in that way-well maybe!), Lonely Again, Side Effects (with Lewis Thompson), Back Around, Keep Holding On, oh and I have to mention One Track Mind with drag artist RILEASA-OMG. This track slaps, the whole album slaps but this one really slaps and tbh, I love One Track Mind too and Disconnect (with Chase & Status) and Right Here.
This album just goes offfffff and is 10 out of 10 for bangers!