The mindblower ZHU (of “Superfriends” & “Faded” fame) released his debut Nightday EP yesterday. Our pick from the very strong (seriously, every track on this EP is outstanding) 6-track set is the sun-soaked and soulful “Cocaine Model” (which is about pretty much what it’s title suggests it would be). You need this EP right now.
ZHU (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
“Midnight Swim” is the new one from Aussie R&B songstress Vanessa Elisha. Framed by a grimy heavy on the low-end and hypnotic syncopations, “Midnight Swim” achieves a neat dynamic both through Vanessa’s ethereal lighter-than-air vocal and its juxtaposition against the darker instrumental and thematically too as that heavy/light counter-positioning is central to the lyric. A+
Vanessa Elisha 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
“Heartbreaker. I’m the young Tom Petty.” South Florida emcee Freewxrld bodies a vibey Tony Yuniverse instrumental on new one “Welcome” which is excerpted below from the just-released W2F mixtape.
Freewxrld 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
Island/Def Jam high priority Iggy Azalea knocks out a new trap-ish single with UK popstress Rita Ora. “Black Widow” shines especially in its dark melody tap “Beez in the Trap”-esque verses where the maybe underrated as rhymer Iggy does some serviceable work. While fine in isolation, Ora’s hook is a bit awkward juxtaposed against the musicality of Iggy’s verses but Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” worked in a similar template and succeeded all the same. “Black Widow” isn’t quite “Dark Horse” but it’s definitely holding a bit of potential pop radio shine.
Iggy Azalea (Twitter)
Rating 8.3
Will Phillips a/k/a Tourist a/k/a one of indie dance’s current most sought after gets an assist from the great Lianne La Havas on new track “Patterns”. “Patterns” hits that perfect and much grasped at grail/nexus of 2014 indie dance and 90’s Whitney; the big gospel-y chorus is particularly standout in that way. “Patterns” is the third single from Tourist’s upcoming EP of the same name and it’s out April 20th in the UK on Method Records and April 22nd in the US on Monday Records.
Tourist 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.5
Words and Photos by Russ Ramos
Perhaps one of the nicest bands on the indie circuit right now have got to be Chvrches. When I say nicest, I literally mean the kindest band. It was a hot day in Pomona CA. Chvrches were getting ready to headline a packed show at the Glasshouse, and before they did their soundcheck, band members Lauren and Martin came outside to a line of patiently waiting fans to handout popsicles and take pictures. Pretty rad if you ask me.
9:00 pm comes around and it’s showtime. A large amount of fog filled up the stage and the venue went black. The Scottish trio then proceeded to put on an amazing show of powerful vocals and dazzling lights. In fact, their immersive light production put fans into a trance. Check out some photos below from their performance that night. If you’re on your way to Coachella for Weekend #2, Don’t forget to catch their set!
Chvrches 
(Facebook)
Risers BASECAMP provide a lush, low touch R&B track for songstress Sophia Black on the excellent “OVR AGN”. The L.A. singer’s sophomore single (“OVR AGN” is the follow-up to the more pop-leaning but still great “Kissing”), “OVR AGN” is great pop songwriting; melodically A+; wall to wall airtight w/ inventive hookiness; and its, most importantly, just accessible enough to current trends in R&B (there’s a definite bit of Jhene Aiko in “OVR AGN”‘s DNA) to possess that essential familiarity that all great pop succeeds on.
Sophia Black 
(Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.3
The Italian-British quartet known as MAUSI (and authors of one 2013’s best singles “Move”) make a return today with a cocktails at the poolside cover of one of 2014 indie’s biggest breakouts Canadian singer Kiesza‘s “Hideaway”. P.S. Don’t miss the smooth interpolation of J. Lopez‘s “Play” snuck into the choruses!
Mausi (Official)
Rating 8.4
Poutine lover and Canadian beat sensation Kaytranada puts some of the creative vitality that over the last eighteen months has boosted his profile exponentially underneath Portland-based Reva DeVito‘s new single for HW&W Reva DeVito. “Friday Night”, while sounding at times like a C&C Music Factory deep cut (this is meant as a compliment), is electric as the dynamic between Kaytranada’s fast-motion glossy dance&b and Reva’s propulsive sultry tone is quite special. Listen.
The Internet, who put out one of our favorite records of last year with Feel Good, take on remix duties for another site favorite Raleigh Ritchie‘s new “Stronger Than Ever” single. Team Internet styles “Stronger” in a manner that’d be at home as much on 90’s quiet storm radio as it would on your alt R&B friend’s new Spotify “chillers” playlist. We’re pretty with that, you should be too. “The world is at my feet and I’m standing on the ceiling”
Raleigh Ritchie (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.2
The big GDNA turns in an excellent, cooled out, vibe-y new mix of the Alicia Keys‘ Diary joint “Feeling You, Feeling Me”. With his mix, GDNA selects for lush well-layered instrumentation and perfectly tempo’d breaks to give the 2003 track a fuller more updated body.
GDNA (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.4
