Look out for up-and-coming pop artist, writer, and producer Drew Schueler, who has just released his latest single, “This Is Where.” I’ll be honest, it’s very reminiscent of Lewis Capaldi in terms of lyrics, phrasing, and melody, but it’s good—really good. The track is one of seven from his upcoming EP, Vulnerable for Once, set to release later this year.
Schueler has already made significant strides in his career. He was the Grand Prize winner of the 2023 Nashville Songwriters Association International Song Contest, wrote K-pop star D.O.’s hit “Somebody,” and produced Zoe Clark’s first EP and hit single “Last One Standing.” Under his personal artist project, Schueler has released 24 songs, attracting 5.75 million total streams.
If you’re in the mood for dreamy and soulful music, check out “Blow The Blue Away” by Diya Shanmugaraj. Diya’s lyrics stand out in a world of copy-and-paste songwriting.
“Alone, with a hole in my heart, feeling like I don’t belong, and lately I don’t feel so strong,” sings Diya before landing on the chorus, “Blow The Blue Away.”
She collaborated with renowned, award-winning English songwriter and producer Jimmy Napes at his London studio. At just 13, Diya Shanmugaraj made an impressive debut in 2023 with her powerful single, “Bulletproof.”
If you’re in the mood for sad pop, give “Life Without Me” by Ella Eliza a try. This song, suitable for the sad and lonely, offers a glimmer of hope. While most indie pop songs lack a punchy anthemic chorus, this one delivers, setting it apart from the rest.
Ella sings, “I lost my way, you lost your faith in what is left of us, yeah and they say… so don’t give up, there’s two of us.”
The track could fit well on Spotify’s Late Night Vibes playlist.
The accompanying video is directed by filmmaker Frankie Joe Gommon. Using storyboarding, performance shots, and set pieces, the video adds an extra layer to Ella’s lyrics.
Check out Icelandic alt-pop artist Axel Flóvent’s latest track, “Don’t Wait For Summer.” This mid-tempo, dreamy song fits well on Spotify playlists like Dreamy Vibes, Late Night Vibes, or alternative mixes. Fans of Hollow Coves, Vance Joy, and The Head and The Heart will enjoy.
“I’ve always been a big fan of artists who evolve on each album. I don’t feel limited interms of what I can do. It’s important for me to be able to explore a variety of sounds to show differentsides of myself. I wanted to create an album I could perform with a band for a lot of people at afestival or you could listen to on headphones alone,” says Axel Flóvent
Born in the Northern fishing village of Húsavík, singer-songwriter and producer Axel Flóvent recorded his first EP ‘Forest Fires EP’. The songs were written under the influence of artists like Bon Iver and Bombay Bicycle Club, with the title track generating over 70 million streams. At 19, Axel moved to Amsterdam to engage with the Dutch music scene. He then moved to Brighton in the UK, where he recorded his EP ‘Youthful Hearts’. After this, he returned to Iceland, settling in Reykjavík. In 2021, Axel released his debut album ‘You Stay by the Sea’ with Nettwerk Records. In 2022, he released a collaboration EP and a deluxe version of his debut album, which included the single ‘Tomorrow Will Be Gone’. Axel is currently performing across Europe and writing new music in his studio in Iceland.
Check out Angela Chambers and her latest track, “Say It To My Face.” This single, from her new solo EP, blends R&B, alt-pop, and electro-pop, with Chambers repeatedly singing, “say it to my face.” Recorded in Nashville, this track showcases Chambers’ range as she balances her time between the US and Berlin, Germany. “Say It To My Face” has the potential to find a home on Spotify’s Pop Rising, Indie Electronica, and Synthpop playlists.
Angela explains, “I drove to Nashville for a songwriting session with a feeling of nothing left to lose and some bottled up emotions inside, and came up with the “Say It to My Face” melody stuck inside my head while I was on the road. I was sick of a passive aggressive world that kept me hanging on by marionette strings. I was nostalgic for some good old “Face to Face” confrontations, which I never got anymore, because everyone was too “busy” hiding behind phones, computers, ghosting, unfollowing or tuning into their own radio silence.
1) Can you elaborate on the emotions and experiences that inspired the lyrics of “Say It To My Face”?
“Say It to my Face” was written during a tumultuous time in my life and career, while I was still learning how to cope and deal with the face of rejection and trying not to take things too personal when it came to the music biz, even when it felt as though people had turned their back on me and I could not find the right people to work with who actually believed in me as an artist, or I felt like I was waiting for the next smuck or industry shark to try and take a bite out of my songs. Writing this song kind of inspired me to let go of the negative energy and toxic relationships that I was experiencing and holding onto at the time and to put it into the words of a song, so I drove to Nashville to meet with Doug and the melody kind of popped into my head as I was driving. It’s a song about the era in which we live, where it’s normal for people to ghost, unfollow, and ignore others and pretend they don’t exist, almost like some sick game to an extreme extent that has become psychologically damaging for some people and which no longer feels normal or relevant to me. The song is an ode to the good old times when people would actually say things to your face, even if that meant they would punch you in the face or try and pull your hair out, instead of hiding behind computers, phones, or tuning you out with their own radio silence.
Check out our interview with Angela below, where she delves into the creative process behind the track.
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