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  1. Connor – ‘Kokoro’

Welcome to the Big Room, with Connor‘s latest release on Althea Records, ‘Kokoro‘ (according to the press notes, “Kokoro is a Japanese berry but also the name of my mates Gin brand which I’ve named it after as the track just seems to fit the name for me“), an ideally produced melodic techno tune, which is heavily influenced by the 90s rave culture and contains house finishing touches.  

After the 4:20 mark, prepare yourselves for an anthemic climax. The closest you may get to an absolute banger!

Christos Doukakis

  1. Karloff – ‘The Dead Will Walk the Earth’ 

Barely over a minute long, ‘The Dead Will Walk the Earth‘ is passionate and ambient, mixing howling screams with gloomy, impending guitars that drone without settling for too long (how long could they settle in a one-minute track anyways?). The single is one half of a split 5” released by Zegema Beach Records, also featuring Providence’s Amitié__. If you like Karloff’s B-side you’ll also love the A-side!

Sarah Medeiros

  1. Spinning Coin – ‘Ghosting’

Indiepop with an upbeat Scottish lilt, ‘Ghosting‘ is reminiscent of casual Sonic Youth tracks and more so Spinning Coin’s fellow countrymen, Teenage Fanclub. Although singer Sean Armstrong states the track was written “in the small hours of a morning in my cockroach-infested flat, on the day that I was to move out,” it doesn’t convey anything quite as dreary. The perfect music to get lost to while driving around curving mountain roads or even concocted jaunts from the comfort of your bed. Check out the LP it’s off of, ‘Hyacinth‘, February 21st via Geographic.

Sarah Medeiros

  1. WVR BVBY – ‘Custard Shoulder’

Custard Shoulder‘ by Melbourne based 8-piece band WVR BVBY is the lead track from their 14-track double LP, due out on February 7th via Plug Seven Records. It’s an adorable, flawless and smooth jazz-funk composition with colorful, delicate melodies, perfectly balanced instrumentation and enough groove to make you stand up and shake your body. Music for the mind & soul and perhaps one of 2020’s most vital smooth jazz releases. Check this out:

Christos Doukakis

  1. Ian Randall Thornton – ‘Send Somebody’

Ian Randall Thornton‘s warm vocal perfomance, richly textured orchestrated folk, poetic lyrics and the optimism ‘flakes’ are the main are the main elements I loved in his latest track, ‘Send Somebody‘. This multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and composer from Norfolk, VA, is a gifted young artist, capable of writing, arranging and performing passionate songs and in the same time moving the indie folk genre much further than we are used to.

Couldn’t agree more with this part of the press notes: “At its heart, ‘Send Somebody’ is about exploring the unknown things that are right in front of us and even inside of us.”

Christos Doukakis

Compiled by Christos Doukakis  & Sarah Medeiros