I haven’t heard of a artist project that mashes Smash Smith and Hozier until now, and that’s FARR. Repped by Red Light Management, the duo is comprised of vocalist Roméo and producer Linden Jay. They go under the moniker of FARR. The song you need to listen is Heal Me. The’ve landed on playlists including Spotify’s Chill and R&B UK – #2 on Indie Invaders. The duo has clocked over 2 million Spotify streams and has 145k monthly listeners. Give it a stream.

Watch out for the Amsterdam-based electronic pop band A.ROSE – fronted by Anna-Rose Clayton. I like the big hooks especially in the song Dancing Alone. Think Tove-Lo meets MØ. The band will support Carly Rae Jepsen in Paradiso Grote Zaal on 2/12. The debut track Hush Hush landed on Spotify’s New Music Friday NL, Spotify’s Rising, and Fresh Finds.

 

Look out for the indie-folk duo Firewoodisland. The UK act just released the catchy Sprinter and have rallied up support from tastemakers like Ear Milk and BBC Radio​. Citing ​Bon Iver​ and Of Monsters and Men​ as influences, they have racked up over 5 million Spotify plays with support from playlists. The indie band market is oversaturated with too many bands trying to do the same thing but something is different with this duo. I don’t know, maybe it’s the songs or visuals, but it’s something.

Definitely check out the Sydney based Nick de la Hoyde. He just dropped the album A Beautiful Mess. One of my favorites is High. I don’t know why, maybe it reminds me of P. Malone. Mashing up genres like Pop, R&B, Hip-Hop, the singer-songwriter was added to the TikTok playlist on Spotify as well as Spotify’s New Music Friday and Indie Invaders.

Kings favorite and artist-to- watch Golda has released another really good track Under. The new single follows one of my favorite top of the year releases Wish I Was Someone Else. Influenced by the likes of Lorde, YEBBA and Phoebe Bridgers, the Los Angeles based artist has a really unique backstory as she grew up in both Chicago and San Diego to Ukrainian parents and honed on her songwriting skills while taking a trip to India. Give it a stream.