Ben Zaidi's music mixes the gentle, velvety electronica with the lyrical wit of spoken-word poetry. His compositions, which he alone wrote and recorded in his bedroom, have the intimacy of a personal journal. Zaidi was surrounded by the tranquility of the Pacific Northwest's natural world while growing up in Seattle. He started creating songs while still in high school, which drew... read full bio
The Phoenix-based band Belaganas plays alternative hip-hop and bedroom pop. The band, which was founded by frontmen and vocalists Joey J and Shanker and also includes drummer Nick Wille, is renowned for its mesmerizing live shows and deeply moving songs. Since starting to compose music in the summer, the band has produced a series of tunes that explore teen angst... read full bio
Before becoming a band from Florida, Bad Luck was a Long Island solo project. The next year, while still living in Florida, they put out Cold Bones and Noise in Your Head, two sharp pop-punk albums that combined nostalgia with neuroses. After such fears caused a busy touring schedule and the group's first exposure to the industrial ecology to fail,... read full bio
Kiki Frances and Cameron Breithaupt, two songwriters from Toronto, make up the band Babygirl. The buddies have been writing lovely blue-tinged pop tunes with guitars that express the extremes of their emotions. They either feel "overbored" with life because they feel so unimportant, or they feel so in love that "you would swear I lost my mind," like in the... read full bio
The singer, whose parents are from Cameroon and who was born in Quessy, north of Paris, initially came to public attention as a finalist on the French singing competition Nouvelle Star before signing with a big label. When she finally decided to break free from her contract and become an independent artist, she experimented with a more sensual trap-beat sound... read full bio
Violet Skies, a Welsh singer-songwriter with ambition as large as her voice, is establishing herself alongside her artist peers after spending the previous several years composing for other musicians across the world and launching sheWrites, a global series of female-only writing camps. She was raised in a small Welsh hamlet and describes herself as a self-confessed nerd, perfectionist and musician from the... read full bio
Violet Days is a joint endeavor between singer-songwriter/artist Lina Hansson and songwriter/producer Kris Eriksson, both of whom are from Stockholm. Through their official songwriting and production work with top musicians including Phoebe Ryan, Shaun Frank and The Chainsmokers, whose smash song "Paris" Kris co-wrote, Hansson and Eriksson have established a venerable name in the songwriting industry. In her home Scandinavia, Lina... read full bio
Brothers Matt and Theo Weedon and Jack Bowden make up the Devon-based trio Tors, a harmonic indie band. Their first three tracks were on Spotify's New Music Friday in the UK, US, Iceland, Chile and Italy when they initially started releasing music. At events like Barn on the Farm, Tunes in the Dunes and Boardmasters, they started performing live. Additionally, they performed two... read full bio
Tim Gallagher is a singer-songwriter from Manchester whose soulful approach is lyrically and melodically influenced by country music and R&B. His song catalog contains tales of love both found and lost. Tim Gallagher is a name to know with a discography that has collected hundreds of thousands of plays, charted on iTunes and been featured in programs like ITV2's "Love Island." He... read full bio
Lead singer Harsh Hoag, lead guitarist Ryan Ulibarri and bassist Mitch Whittaker make up Cousin Simple. In middle school, the Columbus group grew close and in Mitch's basement, they started performing and creating music in the eighth grade. Since then, they have performed live at more than 100 events both locally and in the Midwest, such as Wonderbus, Van's Warped Tour and other... read full bio
Callum Afcouliotis, better known by his stage name COTIS, is a gifted musician and artist from Canada. With his distinctive flow and melodies, COTIS can take you from gloomy trap to upbeat party music. Without giving in, COTIS pursues his intuition in both life and art, which is evident in his music as well. Hip hop and rap were first introduced... read full bio
Citizen has never been easily defined. The three-piece from Ohio has been defying expectations with each new album and refusing to fit neatly into a box for more than 10 years while producing dynamic, diverse guitar music. Citizen's fourth full-length, Life In Your Glass World, is their most distinctive work to date and demonstrates that only the group alone can determine its identity. With each... read full bio
The Funk Hunters, Defunk and Akylla reprise the mid-tempo gem with the first of multiple remakes after coalescing on their Canadian-powered triple collaboration, "Warn Ya," which was the result of their triple collaboration. Las Vegas house master Cazztek is the first visitor in command. With three songs, including the Sara Diamond-assisted "Better Off" and STMPD RCRDS' "Feet So Hot," Cazztek introduces... read full bio
Due to her very personal, moving poetry and catchy, pop-forward tunes, singer-songwriter Cassidy King has amassed a loyal following in recent years. King goes even further with her most recent EP, Concrete Walls, giving a moment of reckoning that can only be attained via in-depth self-reflection. King explores the complexities of relationships with friends, ex-partners and most importantly, with herself in... read full bio
Canadian artist Aviva Mongillo, better known by her stage as CARYS, isn't hesitant to show her emotions. Because she believes that all emotions, both good and bad, originate from the sensation of love, she chooses to go by the recording name CARYS, which is Greek for "love." CARYS was an actor before she became a musician, but she fell in love... read full bio
The band Breakup Shoes is located in Phoenix. They are a brand-new alternative-rock band who have sprung out of the vibrant local scene and their EP "so money, baby" has helped them to advance to a new level. Breakup Shoes, which consists of vocalist/guitarist Nick Zawisa, guitarist John MacLeod and drummer Matthew Witsoe, take satisfaction in fusing narrative with contemporary sounds that... read full bio
In contrast to Lucy Dacus and Sharon Van Etten, Blood Root's Taylor Wafford decided to stray away from folk and alt-country and plunge into ambient, deep soundscapes with her move from North Carolina to Nashville. Blood Root's words and song structure generate more complicated, whimsical sensations by dipping a toe into the worlds of jazz and shoegaze while preserving her... read full bio
For fans of alternative R&B and neo-soul, Flwr Chyld has been crafting a distinctive sound. The producer-songwriter has used strong funk and soul elements to develop cult hits that are loved by audiences all over the world. His EP, "Iridescent Luv," became a sensation in the underground music industry. James Tillman, a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, helped the album's first track, "Luv... read full bio
Canadian independent hip-hop/rap musician Eric Reprid is a JUNO nominee. Marc Wavy, an artist and producer, is Eric's only collaborator. With Marc's assistance, Eric has created a very wide library, developing a distinctive sound and aesthetic that exudes an upbeat, inspiring and easy-listening mood. Eric's music and content have experienced a significant change, which includes the release of the popular single... read full bio
Instrumental group Covet immediately gained a loyal audience for their experimental math rock sounds thanks to their intricate song structures and guitarist Yvette Young's distinctive finger-tapping approach. Young, who has training in the piano and violin, originally honed her two-handed guitar-tapping approach as a solo performer before forming Covet with a rhythm section. Over the course of numerous EPs, the... read full bio
