Seven Fresh Songs #109
Listen to all our daily song picks on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
Far Caspian — Sun Room
At home in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland but also often found in Leeds, U.K. songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joel Johnston makes beautifully dreamy pop music under the moniker Far Caspian. With his latest single “Sun Room,” he once more combines elements of lo-fi, melodic bedroom-pop, shoegaze, and early 2000s indie rock. We love the warm and fuzzy vibes of “Sun Room” and its comforting feel.
When asked about “Sun Room,” Joel Johnston says:
When I started to write this song it made me think of what happens when we lose important family members. The memories that tie us to our hometowns can be disrupted by losing someone that played a role in that time in our lives and I wanted to create a song that remembered a person both in the past and in the present, now that they’re gone and what that means for those old memories.
And this is where I’d like to sit down with Joel and chat. Everything changes when a beloved family member dies and every single memory becomes so incredibly precious because there will never be another chance to make a new memory. Even worse! Over time these memories fade and change in meaning too.
Far Caspian touches a nerve with this subject matter, one I’ve been pondering a lot these days. Ultimately, Far Caspian’s experience is one we all share. Thanks for a fantastic song to go with it!
Listen to “Sun Room,” our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Far Caspian here.
C’Est Karma — Bubblegum
This song is about friendship and is called “Bubblegum,” but don’t expect a cheesy pop tune from C’Est Karma, the musical project of Karma Catena. The Amsterdam-based singer/songwriter had a different kind of production in mind: her declaration of friendship is glitchy, dramatic, and messy like life itself. Karma explains:
“Bubblegum is a song about my longest friendship. We have known each other since the day we were born and have been very close friends ever since. I wanted to celebrate and explore our differences and the things we have in common. We both went through a lot of changes over the past 20 years of our friendship but somehow, our ends still meet. We now live in different cities but visit each other regularly. This was fascinating to me, how two people can grow up together but live totally different lives, and 20 years later the love for one another did not fade in the slightest.”
“Bubblegum” is on Karma’s EP “Amuse-Bouche”, out on May 13. In the meantime, check out her brilliant 2020 EP “Farbfilm”.
Listen to our Song Pick of the Day, “Bubblegum,” below:
Close to Monday — Together
Alex and Any of the German synth-pop duo Close to Monday create eclectic electro-pop made entirely with synthesizers. The focus on synthesizers creates a beautifully dense canvas on which Any’s whisper-soft vocals shine, lending the sound just enough substance to keep us grounded.
The duo’s newest single “Together” serves a mesmerizing sonic love letter with all that might be possible if only:
If you want to fly No one can hold you But if you want to stay Let’s stay together
Fantastic food for blissful daydreaming! Listen to “Together,” our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Close to Monday here.
Prisma — I Never Wanted to Meet You
Danish sisters Frida and Sirid Møl Kristensen record under the name Prisma. Their latest song, “I Never Wanted To Meet You,” touches on a common theme in pop music: free yourself from people who hold you back. But they turn their candid breakup speech into an empowering anthem: sing along to “I show them what I got tonight” next time you face such an obstacle.
The sisters explain where this drive comes from:
“There’s this new drive in us. We have this energy inside, and we need to get it out. It doesn’t have to be pretty, and we don’t have to make perfect takes. The important thing is to emphasize the nerve of the music — this specific energy.”
Listen to “I Never Wanted to Meet You” on your favorite streaming service or watch the animated video below:
Kayce Laine — Another Side
Sometimes you wake up in the morning and you have an idea in your mind — not in an abstract way, but something you have already lived through with intensity. It is amazing what the mind can do while asleep and Nashville-via-Brooklyn singer Kayce Laine takes this as a main inspiration for her songwriting. Her new song, “Another Side,” is a lush pop track where thick synth layers want to carry you away like in a gentle dream.
Kayce says about the song:
Not only was the verse melody for another side written in a dream, but the song itself describes the longing I have for places and people that I meet in my dreamworld. Each night I get to close my eyes and go on a journey, connect with new people and experience them free of consequences. How magical is that?
“Another Side” will be on Kayce’s upcoming album, scheduled for Fall this year. We are happy to premiere the song as our Song Pick of the Day:
Freddy Madson — Hanging in the Air
Becoming a young adult, dealing with all the possibilities but also boundaries when you’re in your twenties, has never been easy. Even more so when the world is grappling with a global, highly infectious disease. Danish pop-artist Freddy Madson muses about what he can and is willing to offer and what the people he encounters expect from him in his new single “Hanging in the Air.” The Copenhagen-based musician put his thoughts into a bright and beautiful pop song topped with warm and jazzy sprinkles. The result is exquisite! Asked about “Hanging in the Air,” Freddy Mason says:
I think everyone knows what it’s like to feel imperfect or inadequate. Other people’s great expectations can suddenly become a massive burden in your life — and it literally dragged me down, creating an endless flow of irrational thoughts and unnecessary contemplation. It was the feeling of hanging in the air while racing for a new tomorrow, but with the help from my closest ones, I got back on track.
And if we thought we found out who we are and what we want to do, we will undergo many revisions throughout our lives. Mason reflects further:
Even though the last couple of years is a total blur, everything seems clearer to me than ever before! Writing ‘Hanging in the Air’ has made me hopeful. And if you ever lose faith or trust in yourself remember that no one could stop you from doing whatever you want to do or to be exactly who you want to be. No one but yourself.
That’s our favorite take-away, aside from the gorgeous song itself: Believe in yourself and keep on going.
Listen to “Hanging in the Air,” our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Freddy Madson here.
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard — A Passionate Life
Welsh glam rockers Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard release their debut album A Passionate Life and drop the final single and title track. “A Passionate Life” is surprisingly constrained for its lyrical title but engrosses us all the same. It’s very lovely. Speaking about “A Passionate Life,” vocalist and guitarist Tom Rees says:
“A Passionate Life” was written about striving to be a better friend, and not spending so much time on myself. I think the world is always telling you to focus on you, which is the right thing to do a lot of the time, but it’s easy work. I don’t think I’ll ever change, but wanting to change feels like enough for now. We’re all surface level creatures and just the thought of wanting to be a better person makes me feel like I am.”
About the video Rees says:
“It’s a very simple idea, I’m no director, nor do I wish to be. It’s a sweet idea, just friends and fans (and two folks who work at the best Pakistani food joint in the Western world) and us.”
Makes sense to enlist friends in a song about friendship. Listen to “A Passionate Life,” our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard here.
