header image: an echowave visual
words: echowave hq
you know what time it is!
with april coming to an end, you’ll notice that this month’s soundwave spotlight is a little different from those that have preceded it. our monthly round-up has been revamped to be better, bigger, and more insightful (sounds a little cliché, we know).
moving forwards, we’ll be catching up with each featured artist to ask them three rapid fire-style questions about their new single. and with that in mind, check out our favourite tracks below.
yavin — marathon
electropop wiz yavin’s latest single does exactly what it says on the tin; it’s a surging, adrenaline-induced number that simply doesn’t hold back – and trust us, you’ll find yourself coming back to it again and again and again. a thrilling taster of his forthcoming extended play, ‘marathon’ steadily builds to an instrumental bridge, which sounds like a nostalgic amalgamation of coin-op games and 90s coming-of-age film soundtracks.
what inspired the track?
This song was co-written with my friend & fellow indie artist Matty Marz and produced by LA-based producer Hubby, and going into writing it I knew I wanted to write something light-hearted and fun, and the concept of walking a marathon as a metaphor for falling in love was the image that we took and ran with, no pun intended.
if you could choose any artist to feature on it, who would it be?
This track was heavily inspired by Passion Pit, so if I could get anyone to feature on it it would definitely be him. I truly believe he’s one of the coolest artists on the planet, and I think pulling from his sound worked out really well on the track.
what can your listeners expect next?
‘Marathon’ is the first part that I’m sharing of a larger story. I do have an EP that I’ve been teasing for forever that is finally coming out this year, and I’m really excited for ‘Marathon’ to be the song to set the scene before unleashing the rest of the project. I can confidently say it’s the best music I’ve ever made, and I’m really looking forward to getting it out there.
bina. — zombies
now, this one is anything but lifeless; ‘zombies’ pulsates to a show-stopper electric guitar tempo, which swiftly turns the spotlight on londoner bina. and her mellifluous vocal. “we all have fun, pretending we can fly / we’re all so young and dumb enough to try / we get so high and then we’re crashing down, down, down, down,” she convincingly recites in the chorus. alongside the single, bina has also released a highly cinematic music video – and it’s well worth a watch.
what inspired the song?
I was inspired by feeling frustrated at the effects of capitalism whilst feeling like you can’t escape it, especially when you’re working on building a life of ease and freedom. At the time I was working a full-time day job whilst working on my music in the evenings and days off, lots of late nights. I felt like my life was all work. A then whilst fantasising about a life of freedom and autonomy, I realised it requires me to play the same game I have grievances with.
The visuals reflect the mood, too – we were inspired by Severance, thrillers and horrors like The Shining, so it feels like it’s from this surreal world where dreamy fantasy meet the bleakness of the reality you’re tryna escape.
if you could choose any artist to feature on it, who would it be?
Rachel Chinouriri or Hayley Williams!! I love both their voices and sounds, they’re both are amazing writers too, so I think that would make a killer remix.
what can your listeners expect next?
continued boldness, lots more new music this year, and looks that would set your moodboard on fire!! Also keep an eye out for when I come to your city. In the meantime, stream ‘Zombies’ and check out the music video.
roni. — friends say
a sweet offering from up-and-comer roni’s newest project, a ten-track album titled bear with me, ‘friends say’ is going to resonate with anyone who’s ever felt betrayed in a relationship. the candid track, which lyrically pulls absolutely no punches, features production that’s equal parts stinging and comforting – an effective, self-produced result that taps into the la-based musician’s multifaceted set of skills.
what inspired the song?
Needed to talk about some jealous feelings I had in a previous relationship.
if you could choose any artist to feature on it, who would it be?
3ee, he’s an artist based in NYC and the way he slides on his tracks and his approach to writing is so effective.
what can your listeners expect next?
I will be dropping some more content centered around the story of this project. I’m not letting up any time soon.
go4broke — skin
honest, introspective, and deeply personal – that’s alt-pop sensation go4broke’s new track in a nutshell. situated behind the riotous, genreblending production is a deeply personal story of perseverance of trying to cope when things get tough. the los angeles-based artist jumpstarts the song with striking lyrical imagery, which makes you pay close attention to the story that’s about to unfold.
what inspired the song?
‘Skin’ was inspired by a conversation I had with my girlfriend. She was having a really hard time dealing with her anxiety. We talked about it for probably over an hour, and mentioned that sometimes it’d be nice to just “step out of your own skin.” That visual really stuck with me and it was the first lyric I wrote down in my session with the producers, Riley Aki and Joe Pepe.
if you could choose any artist to feature on it, who would it be?
Honestly I would choose for it to just be my own track. I don’t do a lot of features and I like to keep it that way. I only want features when I feel like having a second opinion or mindset makes sense on the track or will make it better. In this case where I’m talking about such a personal thing I prefer to keep the track the way it is. I feel like while anxiety is something tons of people feel, I tried to talk about it in a unique way to myself and I think that’s what’s special about the track.
what can your listeners expect next?
so much more music. I’ve been creating more than ever and it sounds better than ever. I think I’m the closest I’ve ever been to finding my sound and it’s the most inspiring thing for me creatively. If you’re enjoying the way my new music sounds there is so much more where it came from, especially like ‘no air’.
fison — daughter of a good man
as far as debuts go, ‘daughter of a good man’ is an outstanding introduction to fison’s sound. the folk-pop number employs the kind of reminiscence that is both scary and uncomfortable, however, the brit singer-songwriter tackles it with an immediate, fearlessly analytical approach to storytelling, resulting in a song rooted in integrity and gravitas.
what inspired the song?
The song is about that moment in life when the veil you have as a kid starts to slip and you start to see your parents as full human beings. As much as that transition felt like a knife-to-the-gut, there was also a side of it that was quite freeing and writing this song helped me lean into that.
if you could choose any artist to feature on it, who would it be?
It’s such a personal song, so it’s hard to imagine an artist featuring on it, but I would love someone like Clairo do her own take on it. She has a way of putting punching emotion into a song but in an understated way, which is definitely something I tried to do with ‘Daughter Of A Good Man’, and of course her music is so rich and well crafted, she’s brilliant.
did you face any challenges during the song’s creative process? if so, how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge with the song was me. It was my first time in a recording studio and I was definitely feeling a lot of impostor syndrome. I think that vulnerability translated into my vocals and created a sense of restraint, which Jamie Biles (producer) did an amazing job at not overwhelming with the instrumentation. We actually decided to keep the demo vocals in the end because we wanted to maintain that emotion.
tyler miller — new york ain’t pretty without you
have you ever come across an artist that you were certain would blow up in due time? and did a sense of unshakable joy put a smile on your face when they skyrocketed to stardom? yep, there’s no better feeling that that – and you might just score yourself another ‘i told you so’ with tyler miller. his deeply reflective ‘new york ain’t pretty without you’ already sounds like a chart-topping song, from incisive production to the gritty vocal performance that cuts right through it.
what inspired the song?
This record is as vulnerable and straightforward as its title. [it] is about heartbreak. This song feels like wishing you weren’t alone.
if you could choose any artist to feature on it, who would it be?
If I had to choose one artist to be featured on this record, it would probably be The Kid Laroi. Funny enough, I almost wrote a Laroi-inspired verse 2 on this song – rappy, but melodic. We ended up going in a different direction, but I can picture him killing that part.
what can your listeners expect next?
My new song ‘Frozen’ (the prelude to ‘New York Ain’t Pretty Without You’) comes out May 6. I have some really exciting new music coming out this summer – some familiar sounds, and some brand new sounds. I can’t wait for you guys to hear it.
