There is no denying that Friday is the best day of the week where new music is released and we geek out at every playlist available while celebrating the end of the work week and getting excited about weekend plans. While new music is dropping almost every day, we understand that the task of breaking through all that music clutter is difficult. Here at Popwire, we do you a favour by handpicking new singles and albums you ought to keep your headphones on for.
MZA, Eldritch Terror (Prelude)
As part of *SCAPE ALT. Residency program from October 2020 to January 2021, MZA reunited with Intriguant and under his mentorship produced new singles, ‘Liquid Ocelot’ and this month, ‘Eldritch Terror (Prelude)’. Heavily inspired by Lovecraftian horror themes, ‘Eldritch Terror (Prelude)’ includes heavily clouded downtempo rhythms in this eerie electronic trance track. Haunted by dissonance and hypnotic basslines and beats, MZA’s latest track is merely the prelude to a larger discography of sonorous and mellifluous electronic music.
Dru Chen, Replay
Dru Chen released ‘Replay’ just last week. The R&B track showcases a personal reminiscence of young love in the late ‘90s, going back and replaying the first time you met that special someone. With lo-fi elements threaded into the artist’s soulful vocals, imagine being transported back to that 90s vibe of chunky Walkmans and fuzzy VHS recordings.
Listen to ‘Replay’
yams, do you drive a nice car
Multi-hyphenate producer and singer-songwriter yams has been known for not shying away from dark topics such as family trauma and political commentary. In this single, yams intertwines a mother’s pursuit of freedom and money, and the nation’s dream of a family and a home. ‘do you drive a nice car’ captures many central themes of yams’ upcoming album – dreaming, longing, loss, giving listeners a preview of the upcoming album’s diversity as it features rap, singing, as well as spoken word.
Listen to ‘do you drive a nice car’
Vivien Yap, Tamuraryo, Horoscope
‘Horoscope’ is a tongue-in-cheek lo-fi collaborative track by Japanese artist Tamuraryo and Singaporean singer-songwriter Vivien Yap.
Co-written while the world was in lockdown, this collaboration brings together the musicalities of
the modern-day bedroom producer and the lyrical sensibilities of a singer-songwriter. Featuring guitar lines by Japanese guitarist Chiba Keishiro, ‘Horoscope’ is a playful dig at elitist sub-cultures within the realms of music and art.
Listen to ‘Horoscope‘
UQiYO, Froya, invisible
Having met in Niigata, Japan for a co-writing session, the collaborative single was written by both UQiYO and Froya about the snowy city itself.
The single, ‘invisible’ blends both UQiYO’s and Froya’s different artistic approaches, effortlessly weaving both sounds into a cohesive genre-bending experience including the crafting of sounds of Niigata, as well as sounds inspired through a jamming session in a century-old traditional Japanese ryokan. A sonically liberating single, ‘Invisible’ allows listeners to groove in a rather nonchalant way. Froya shares, “The single signifies the hidden strength and potential inherent in everybody waiting to be uncovered, rising from the surface, just like flowers blooming in the springtime.”
Listen to ‘invisible’
Lullaboy, blind
Call it an emotional push and pull wrapped up into one helluva bluesy R&B song. Lullaboy’s ‘blind’ is heartbreaking and yet empowering. Written through the eyes of a domestic violence victim who has gained the courage to stand strong on her own, the track was released for International Women’s Day. ‘blind’ is for the ones who need a reminder of how special they really are.
Listen to ‘blind’
RON, all too late
Also part of *SCAPE ALT. Residency programme, actor turned singer-songwriter RON teamed up with music producer Foxela to release ‘all too late’. With lo-fi production melding with heart-wrenching wistful lyrics, RON says, “This is all about trying to salvage something that is already broken, the feeling of guilt and hopelessness that washes over you even as you try to mend the pieces together. This one’s for all you heartbroken people.”
Listen to ‘all too late’