In the spotlight: Ederlezi
London (UK) based duo Ederlezi consists of two artists who each have a busy career of their own as well: guitarist/bass player/singer David Page, who plays with Jonathan Jeremiah and Young Gun Silver Fox to name a few, and singer/piano player Hannah Nicholson, who toured with Ellie Goulding – she even performed as a backing…
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In the spotlight: The Art Crimes Band
The Art Crimes Band are a six-piece R&B/Soul band from Cork (Ireland) consisting of Grace McMahon (vocals), Gary Baus (alto saxophone), Niall Dennehy (drums & percussion), Stephen Kirby (guitars), Tim O’Leary (bass) and Katie O’Donnell (piano & keyboards). I asked the band some questions… How and when did the band form? Niall Dennehy: “We’re all…
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In the spotlight: Mulholland Jive
Mulholland Jive is an instrumental funk-rock project led by Irish musician Ben Mulholland, a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Cambridge (UK). Inspired by Snarky Puppy, Vulfpeck, Muse and The White Stripes, Mulholland Jive makes energetic, catchy, piano-heavy bops. Mulholland Jive has released two EPs, ‘Intergalactic’ in April 2021 and ‘Supernova’ in February 2022. Mulholland Jive…
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In the spotlight: Vandarth
At age 16, a friend gave Vandarth a copy of the first Foo Fighters album where Dave Grohl played every instrument himself, saying “I think you could make an album like this”. It was a pivotal moment for Vandarth; he was blown away and began to record his own solo album. Today Vandarth performs as…
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In the spotlight: Broken Bear
Broken Bear are a two-piece female fronted indie guitar garage rock band with a live feel from Epsom (UK), featuring Laura on lead vocals, guitars and drums, and Paul on bass, synths, drums and backing vocals. Their sound is influenced by the likes of Nirvana, Fleetwood Mac, Half Moon Run, and The Cranberries to name…
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In the spotlight: The Trusted
Hailing from Southend-on-Sea (UK) the Trusted are Dave Batchelor (drums), Dale Holt-Mead (guitar), Fin Cunningham (bass) and Tom Cunningham (vocals). You guessed it, the latter two are related, brothers even. From their first rehearsal the band knew they had something special. The band name came from a Nick Lowe song called ‘Peace, Love and Understanding’…
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In the spotlight: Bleak Affair
Imagine Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Placebo went to the pub together and decided to write an EP. That’s how British band Bleak Affair describe their sound. Bleak Affair consist of two members: Ben Barnett (guitar/vocals) and James Oliver (guitar/Father Figure). They released their debut single ‘Sometimes’ in September. Let’s chat about their debut single and…
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In the spotlight: indifferentMonKeY
IndifferentMonKeY, based in Morecambe (UK), comprises of Joe Lowe (instruments, writer and producer), Pippa (singer), Brendan Syson (guitar) and Graham Darbyshire (drums). They have released several singles since September 2021. The band descibe themselves as trip hop rock. Read the interview with founding member Joe Lowe. What’s your musical background? What inspired you to start…
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In the spotlight: Blokeacola
Welsh-born Blokeacola is the man sporting a bright orange helmet making psychedelic indie pop. He played in bands for years in the UK before becoming a solo artist and then moving to Hangzhou (China). He released his debut single ‘Make It On Your Own’ in 2020 and recently released an EP ‘Wig Game‘. Tell me…
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In the spotlight: DuncanC
Duncan Cassidy or DuncanC is currently living in Jersey, Channel Islands (UK) where he was born. He moved to Glasgow (Scotland) with his family when he was around 11 years old to complete his secondary school education, before moving back to Jersey in his late teens. “Even though Jersey is a nice place, it can…
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In the Spotlight: The Cavs
The Cavs are a five-piece indie/rock band from Manchester (UK). The band was previously known as The Cavaliers, but after a couple of line up changes, they changed their name to The Cavs. The band currently comprises of Elliot Craven (vocals), James McAuley (rhythm guitar), Chris Terry (lead guitar), Michael Carney (bass) and Arthur Townson…
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In the spotlight: Denny Lloyd
Denny Lloyd is a singer/songwriter, musician and producer from Windsor (UK). Denny is also one half of the duo Intrinsik featuring Denny Lloyd & John Hardman. Let’s start out with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music. How did your musical adventure take off? “I grew up mainly in Windsor. My…
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In the spotlight: Dead in Shibuya
Based in London (UK) Dead in Shibuya brings you a twisted mesh of dark pop and hard rock. The band started as a project around late 2019 but it was during the pandemic in 2020 that they really started seriously writing together. “It was during those first few lockdowns that we wrote and recorded our…
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In the spotlight: Charity Stow
Charity Stow is a young singer-songwriter based in Nottingham (UK). Charity comes from a musical family and has worked with her father to create her own sound. Charity combines her alternative style and love of old tracks to produce her own unique music. Her track ‘What the World Wants’ is currently in our chart. Tell…
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In the spotlight: Storm of Crows
Storm of Crows is a three-piece rock band based in Sheffield and Stockport (UK). The band members Paul Coates (guitars, vocals, synthesiser), Matt Kik (guitars, vocals, MIDI drums) and Jimmy Medway (bass guitar, vocals) were originally in various bands at the end of the 90s. They reformed during the Covid-19 lockdown to record some of…
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In the spotlight: Robi Mitch
Indie rock singer/songwriter Robi Mitch’s dreamy yet groovy sound is inspired by 70s psychedelia and 90s mixtapes, along with his experiences as a session musician in Taiwan. In 2021 he moved from his hometown of Bristol (UK) to Cornwall and is now based in Penryn. He released his debut album ‘Our Year’ in January 2020…
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In the spotlight: Alex Francis
Singer/songwriterAlex Francis was raised in the sleepy Hertfordshire town of Hitchin (UK), but moved to Brighton to realise his musical dreams in a more creative and exciting environment. He is currently based in London. Alex first introduced himself in 2017 when he was invited to be the guest vocalist on Melanie C’s single ‘Hold On’.…
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In the spotlight: Bar II
In our present, urban times, dominated by show-offs and pretenders, Bar II keep their mysteries to themselves. They won’t abide by the dictatorship of imagery only to focus on pure, raw, dark deranged rock music. May they raise the bar, too. Bar II comprises of Mr Du Penfast and BARThom, who discovered that they were…
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In the spotlight: Charlie Smith
Charlie Smith is an alternative singer/songwriter from Hampshire (UK). He started playing music in his secondary school days, but only started putting music out properly at the back end of 2020. He released an EP ‘I Hate It I Own It’ in 2020 and a full length album ‘I just want to sleep’ in 2021.…
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In the spotlight: Thirsty Curses
Thirsty Curses are a rock ‘n roll band from Raleigh, North Carolina (USA) formed by Wilson Getchell in 2017. Through the years the band had various line up changes with Wilson Getchell and bassist Clayton Herring serving as the two mainstays. The band currently consists of Wilson Getchell (vocals, guitar, keys), Clayton Herring (bass guitar),…
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In the spotlight: Civic Green
Civic Green are an indie rock band from Barnsley (UK) who formed in 2015. The band comprises of Danny Hall (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Matty Walker (lead guitar), Andy Lowman (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Gav Darley (drums). The band recently released their debut EP ‘Sailing The River’. For an in-depth look of the album,…
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In the spotlight: John Your Mate
John Your Mate are John Stevenson, Neil Phillips and Tim Shorten. John started writing and recording on his own in 2019. After two albums, a solo became a trio when East London based John was joined by next door neighbour Neil, who played on the ‘Taming Ghosts’ record. Tim, a long time collaborator of Neil,…
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In the spotlight: JonSaw
JonSaw are a two-piece band based in Gothenburg (Sweden) that play bluesy southern rock with a splash of bourbon and 70s. The band consists of Robert Jonsson (vocals and guitar) and Mikael Säwström (drums). JonSaw first saw the light of day in February 2022 after a conversation during the Christmas holidays. Now they release a…
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In the spotlight: Orange Creek Riders
Orange Creek Riders are a folk rock band from Orlando, Florida (USA) consisting of Darren Soto (singer, guitarist and songwriter), Darren Vierday (harmonica), Jeff Jordan (bass) and Jeff Sudbury (drums). The band is influenced by different genres including punk and country. How did the band form and get started? “We formed in 2013 to play…
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In the spotlight: Yogishine
Yogishine is a band based in based in Trondheim and Oslo (Norway) founded in 2014. They make music inspired by genres like hip hop, funk, r&b and soul. The band consists of Therese on vocals and synths, Kristian on Guitars and synths and Are on bass and synths. In May 2022 they released their single…
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In the spotlight: Dust City Opera
Dust City Opera is an eccentric rock band from the deserts of New Mexico, consisting of Paul Hunton (vocals, guitar, songwriter), Clara Byom (clarinet, accordion, keys), Travis Rourk (trombone), Scott Brewer (bass), and Dave Purcell (drums). They entwine strands of grunge, gothic country, punk, folk, and rock as the soundtrack to stories steeped in cosmic…
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In the spotlight: Lee Ford
Lee Ford is a singer/songwriter from Liverpool (UK). Lee, backed with a full band, has a catalogue of tunes with raw relatable lyrics and loud guitars ready to be released into the world of new music and make an impact. “I’m a singer/songwriter when I’m not snowed under with work trying to get my songs…
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In the spotlight: The Arcades
The Arcades are a four piece-band from St. Neots (UK). The band consists of Tom Hall (lead singer), Matt Keating (lead guitar, songwriter), Perry Wright (Drums) and Dean Merrick (bass). I spoke to Dean about their influences and favourite performances. How did it all start? “As friends our common interest was going to gigs/festival and…
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In the spotlight: Skinny Dippers
Skinny Dippers is a Brooklyn, NY (USA) based indie music project fronted by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Gross. Drawing from his roots growing up on the coast of Maine, his style spans a broad range of genres by blending guitar driven indie rock arrangements with analog synthesizers and choral harmonies. When did you first fall…
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In the spotlight: Oddwall
Odd Wall is a 41 year old music producer from England, who released his debut album ‘Fear’ on 1st October 2021. He has been involved in music for around 20 years, starting out with DJ’ing on pirate radio in someone’s kitchen and ended up with in venues with the likes of Fatboy Slim, Pendulum, Chase…
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In the spotlight: Jonny Phillips Trio
After bringing a pot of indie rock to a simmer on the musical stove, The Jonny Phillips Trio (UK) throw in a pinch of prog, a couple of spoonfuls of blues, and maybe a psychedelic or two to create a tantalising one-pot wonder of explosive auricular fusion. Musically guaranteed to satisfy the soul and body,…
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In the spotlight: Shayan Regan
Shayan Regan is a 22-year old singer/songwriter originally from the United Kingdom, who is currently living in Florence (Italy). From a young age, he found solace in a variety of artists and songwriters particularly focusing on genres such as pop, indie, singer/songwriter, acoustic and folk, which contributed to him shaping his own identity as a…
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In the spotlight: Lunar Plexus
Lunar Plexus are Devon (UK) based Indie duo John Saddler and Reuben Ayres who have previously played in various bands – separately and together – across various genres. They first came together musically around 2000 in a band called Reflux which played various pubs, clubs, parties and weddings in and around Exeter. Reub: “We came…
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In the spotlight: Ali Gilbert
Ali Gilbert is a singer/songwriter from the small town of Tamworth in the West Midlands (UK). He has been performing and writing music since his early 20’s. When he’s not performing at gigs and writing songs, he loves spending time with his family, playing football and hitting the gym. I always like to ask artists…
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In the spotlight: State
State are a new three-piece band from Bristol comprised of Ben Wilson (guitars, keys, programming), Viv Paton (bass, keys, programming) and Sa Andrieu (vocals). They recently released their debut single ‘Fist Bump’. Despite being a new band the members aren’t new to music. “We all met at school in Newbury. Ben and Viv started a…
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In the spotlight: NEEDSHES
Needshes is the brainchild of singer/songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Otabek Salamov (Bek). Bek was born in Tashkent in 1989 in the post-Soviet country of Uzbekistan. He is currently based in Tula, Russia. Let’s ask him some questions. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What’s distinctive about where you grew up and…
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In the spotlight: Hugo’s Will
Take a tablespoon of Blues, a pinch of Psychedelia, a splash of Soul, a little Punk and a large dose of petrol-scented Garage Rock and you have Hugo’s Will from Umeå (Sweden). Hugo’s Will currently consists of RG (vocals), NB (bass) and KB (guitar) who have previously rocked in other bands such as Crystal Caravan,…
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In the spotlight: Andre Pettipas
Nova Scotia (Canada) based rock band Andre Pettipas and The Giants – the band name is a reference to former French wrestler André The Giant, released their sophomore album ‘No Fools No Fun’ in 2021. Lead singer Andre Pettipas will release a solo album later this year, which will also be keeping in the theme…
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In the spotlight: Subterfuge
Subterfuge were formed in Düsseldorf (Germany) in 1991. They are one of a handful German first generation indiepop groups that are still around. Between 1993 and 2005 the band recorded four studio albums. Their third one ‘I Do Birds’ was also released in Japan. Then priorities of the band members shifted towards solo projects while…
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In the spotlight: Shoun Shoun
Bristol (UK) based four-piece Shoun Shoun play unflinching, atmospheric dream pop and art garage rock wlth the urban ennui of Nico mixed with the noise of Sonic Youth with a certain Velvet Underground elegance. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and guitarist Annette Berlin, who has spent years battling ferocious noise in Bristol bands like…
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About me
I’m Lean and I’m a music addict from the Netherlands. Although I’m the face of the website, I don’t run it all by myself. I have a team behind me to host the website, organize the playlists, select tracks and albums for our (long) shortlist and publish the charts.
Our mission is to bring musicians and listeners together and share the love for music made by independent artists. All because we love music!
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