If Marana Blake doesn’t get any traction with the track California Waves, then I hope Lana Del Rey cuts it. In fact, Lana Del Rey hasn’t released a song that gives off California vibes in a long time. Back to Marana Blake. She’s an indie singer-songwriter born in Chicago. She released a few tracks as well as several cover videos. We added the track to our Indie Invaders Playlist. Give it a stream.

We’d be better off if more tracks like The Whole 9 flooding the streaming platforms. It’s simple, the French singer-songwriter Marina Kaye delivers the goods – the video is well crafted too. The video has already clocked 300k YouTube streams since it’s release on Feb. 10th. Her first track Twisted landed on Spotify’s New Music Friday Europe with tastemaker support from Wonderland Magazine, Hotpress, and Celebmix. I would love to see this 22 year old have more U.S. presence. Give it a stream.

I can’t get enough of the track People Say by Ben Wylen and you probably won’t either despite what genre you love. The LA based singer takes cues singer-songwriters like Springsteen and Coldplay which is refreshing from beats with a topline. The mid-tempo piano track which comes off his forthcoming album was crafted by a dream team – string arranger Audrey Riley (The Cure, The Smiths, Smashing Pumpkins), and mixer Steve Fitzmaurice (Sam Smith, Lewis Capaldi). Check out the video here.
Upcoming Dates:
SXSW – Austin, TX

April 2nd – Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY
April 7th – The Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles, CA

Justin Bieber is eyeing a seventh No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. Forecasters are estimating 250,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 20th. He’s fully back in the game promoting his latest album with a YouTube series documentary and upcoming world tour – and he’s posting on his socials like every 15 minutes.

Look out for London based artist Marie Dahlstrom. She just released the track Like Sand (feat Beau Diako) which comes off her soon to be released debut album. She mashes R&B, soul and jazz. I like it because it’s not pop, it’s experimental, with no big hooks, but tons of vibe. Listen to the album in the background and let it do its work. She’s won support from blogs like Complex, Line of Best Fit, EarMilk, and Wonderland – and playlisted on Spotify’s Bedroom Jams, R&B UK, and Spotify and Chill. Give it a stream.