will.i.am & Britney Spears – Mind Your Business
Omg two summers in a row now we have new Britney music! Maybe Britney will be Black Eyed Peas special guest at Brighton Pride you never know?! (I have no idea if that will happen btw I’m just manifesting although not getting my hopes up after the rumours of Britney joining Elton John at Glastonbury didn’t materialise boohoo).
Britney was singing will.i.am’s praises to Vogue saying “Will is an incredible artist and partner” and “We worked on this song years ago, and it was time re-produce it and share it with my incredible fans.”
will.i.am said “Every single person, famous and not, has their privacy invaded in some shape or form in this digital age,” and “It’s a sentiment for the times, so we should be more humane to each other, respect and have empathy for each other, and be thankful for what people choose to share publicly. If people don’t want to share, we need to respect their right not to share, and to have a private life.” well said so mind your business, bitches!
Troye Sivan – Rush
YouTuber-turned pop star Troye Sivan is like so in his horny era and I have to admit he’s making us thirsty at Scene HQ-he knows what he’s doing. Rush is the lead single from his upcoming third studio album, Something To Give Each Other. Troye said ‘Rush is the feeling of kissing a sweaty stranger on a dancefloor, a two-hour date that turned into a weekend, a crush, a winter, a summer.
‘Party after party, after party after party. All of my experiences from a chapter where I feel confident, free, and liberated. Oh my, my, my! (IYKYK). Rush is so STUD 2.0, again, if you know you know.
NADINE – If I Lay Here (Chasing Cars)
Omg Queen of Derry Nadine Coyle is back with this beautifully crafted dance reworking of the classic single Chasing Cars. Nadine said “my fans have been so good to me over the years when in the band (Girls Aloud) and as a solo artist so it makes perfect sense to make a party track so when I perform it we can all go crazy”. She went on to say that the choice of track was simply made in a studio with her producer and “ based on it being a beautiful love song and one that fans can singalong to together and after the past couple of years that is one of the most important things in life”.
Nadine has recently been working with award winning producer/composer Dru Masters. Omg Nadine even said “if fans like it and want a video of course we’ll shoot one and I am very certain that will happen any moment!” Slay.
Beverley Knight – Last One On My Mind
Beverley Knight aka the Queen of British Soul is back making music finally woo and Last One On My Mind is a sassy slash joyous track. Bev said “It’s about taking your power back from a former lover and striding into the future. It gets in you and stays there.”
To celebrate her 50th Beverley will be going on her biggest ever UK tour later this year (what a way to celebrate) throughout October and November including a stop at the Brighton Dome on the 7th November-I’ll be there, not square!
Dale – vertici
ITALIANS DO IT BETTER! Gabriele D’Alessandro, aka “Dale” (not me btw lol) is a 20 year old emerging Italian singer-songwriter. Dale’s artistic journey was born in 2020 with the publication of the first single entitled Abbi cura di te, a letter addressed to himself as a child. From that moment on, he experimented a lot on a stylistic level, trying to find the right key to best express what he can’t keep inside him….
vertici tells of a toxic love from which it’s difficult to escape because they are too much in love with the other person. Dale said “The two lovers I speak of in vertici are like two parallel lines that have chosen to divert their course to meet each other, but ending up imprisoning each other in a life that they now feel close.” we’ve all been there.
Lemon – BIG BANK
I’m late to the party buttttt Lemon, if you didn’t know was on the first season of Canada’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World oh and not to be confused with Ginny Lemon. Lemon has charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent and she’s simply a rapstress.
All I’m saying is Cardi B could never. I love this song!
Bonnie McKee – SLAY
Bonnie McKee was supposed to drop this empowering bop a whole decade ago but her record label at the time stopped it from happening for some reason!
Bonnie’s tweaked the production a tiny bit and modernised it but don’t worry besties it’s still super nostalgic but fresh sounding at the same time. Fun fact: Bonnie wrote massive songs for Katy Perry in the past oh and for Britney, Xtina, Kesha, Avril Lavigne, Adam Lambert, Rita Ora and even Cheryl too so she basically invented the 2010’s era and sound.
As the songs she wrote with Katy Perry reached number 1 all over the world, Bonnie wrote and recorded her own album that she says Epic Records decided to chuck in the bin in 2013 because the “CEO didn’t think the next single was a hit,” even though SLAY is a obviously a slay (they obviously had no idea). Since then, that music has been sitting in a vault-until now that is!
At the start of the official video Bonnie’s taking SLAY out of the vaults literally, oh and she said “I’m putting all of the money that I’ve made back into my art because no one else will invest in me,” she says. “When the whole world has told you to sit down and shut up, and you’re like, ‘Fuck you. I’m about to slay,’ there’s something inspiring about that. That’s why I’m doing it.”
Before the pandemic drama, Bonnie reached out to her former label to get back her masters. After going through layers of what she calls “bureaucratic bullshit” for months, she decided she was going to rerecord the songs completely. “I guess I gotta pull a Taylor Swift and just rerecord this shit,” she says, later adding: “I gotta stop waiting for permission. I gotta stop waiting for someone to ask, and just fucking do it.” never a truer word has been spoken.
Album Of The Month (technically EP Of The Month)
Matilda Bond – Meet Me In The Middle
Brighton-based Matilda Bond is returning and ready to invoke a serious reaction, with their latest offering Home For 24 Hours. Featuring previously released singles Charm, Meanwhile, Long Lost and Meet Me in the Middle as well as brand shiny new track I’ll Wait, the project takes us on a journey through elegant vocals and love-soaked lyrics. Each track on this slinky EP creates a warm and cosy space.
Matilda said “This EP is an invitation into my Home For 24 Hours. So many of the emotions I have experienced over the last year have been condensed into these 21 minutes. Home For 24 Hours depicts loss, love, hopelessness, desire, worry and warmth. Every song has been a means to reach out to loved ones (my friends, my family, my partner, music or myself) with words that aren’t always easy to say. The old family photographs that have translated into cover arts make this EP all the more close to home for me.
Stepping into any person’s Home For 24 Hours would give you a huge insight into their current state, their wants, worries or woes and I wanted to explore that notion throughout this EP. How does it look to live in my Home For 24 Hours? It doesn’t always make for the most cohesive experience, this emotional roller coaster that we have created, but it feels like a true expression of my recent self.”
Active since 2019, Matilda Bond has shown to be a new and exciting group enjoying the explosion of the jazz movement that pulls from its influences in other genres in abundance. Matilda’s sound brings together nuanced jazz chords and soulful, expressive vocal performances to create a sonic space full of warmth into which they add their hip-hop and RnB influences.
Home For 24 Hours is the culmination of a journey that has seen Matilda Bond step into a new era for their music. This process has seen the band hone in their sound and set the tone for the future of their music. In terms of what’s next for the collective, we can expect them to keep up their exciting growth and continue to release enticing new music….I hope so!