Five rock tracks where emotion does as much work as volume. From a song written in 2001 and to a Swedish trio’s Deep Purple homage and a San Diego metal universe, rock pulls in five directions this week.

Liri Dais – Counting Hours

Lit Dais have crafted something genuinely rare: a track that sounds both timeless and tastefully produced, with every guitar line and vocal landing exactly where it should

Counting Hours represents a powerful resurrection of a song originally written in 2001. What once existed only in scratchy recordings from Dais’s student band days has been transformed through modern production into a studio-quality release, with Dais’s vocals and guitar performance capturing the essence of the original while elevating it with professional polish. The lyrical narrative explores desperation, loss, and the relentless passage of time through vivid, cinematic imagery that remains as potent today as when it was first penned.

Liri Dais is a multi-genre songwriting project from Sevenoaks, England, with songs written across 25 years now being brought up to date through the latest production techniques. The approach treats AI not as a replacement for songwriting but as a way to retrieve work that was always there, locked in old demos and notebooks. Counting Hours is the first proof of concept, and you can hear that the song itself has the bones to survive any production era. It’s great.

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Wahnsucht – Blinded By Life

Blinded By Life crackles with emotional voltage. Wahnsüche’s instrumentation is bold, the production pristine, and the song earworms its way in from the very first listen

Blinded By Life is another emotionally charged single from Wahnsucht, exploring themes that speak to those who navigate life with heightened sensitivity and awareness. Philipp Killer’s gift for combining memorable melodies with raw, honest lyricism is on full display, wrapped in production that balances traditional rock instrumentation with cutting-edge sonic reimagining. It’s available across all major streaming platforms under both the Wahnsucht and Philipp Killer artist names, continuing the project’s mission of soundtracking introspection and connection for people who feel things deeply. Sign me up, guys.

Wahnsucht is a Swiss music project from Zurich, merging raw guitar-driven soundscapes with contemporary rock and pop sensibilities. The creative process is unusual: songs are written and recorded traditionally in a rehearsal room, then reimagined through AI, used not as a replacement for human creativity but as a way to access sonic possibilities that would normally need expensive studio equipment. The result is music born from genuine emotion, and we love it.

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Lost In Details – Memory Of Mine

Memory Of Mine is richly layered and beautifully paced. Lost In Details strike a balance between intimacy and scale that most bands spend careers chasing

Memory Of Mine emerged from over a year of accumulated feelings and experiences, translated into a sonic landscape of intricate guitar riffs and bass lines woven throughout the arrangement. The careful instrumentation adds substantial depth, creating a rich listening experience that rewards repeated plays. As the artist puts it, the lyric ‘shadows in the rain won’t let me go’ captures the song’s essence: that persistent presence of someone who remains close even when you’re ready to move forward, the difficulty of truly letting go. It definitely hits deep this one.

Lost In Details is an emerging artist from Milton Keynes, England, working from a place of raw emotional honesty. The focus is on songs that resonate on a deeper level, built through authentic storytelling and carefully layered production. They cite Cenobia as a touchstone for fluid songwriting, and that influence shows in how Memory Of Mine moves between intricate detail and emotional weight. Their developing catalogue points to an artist taking the time to find a sound worth sticking with. We’ll be watching their next steps carefully.

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The Lazz – The Resonance

The Resonance is exactly what the name promises. The Lazz build something that genuinely fills a room, with a rhythmic backbone and melodic instinct that’s hard to shake

The Resonance is the first chapter in a larger visual and musical arc following Maya, a warrior monk on a path toward transcendence. The song explores memory, lineage, and unseen strength, the idea that every struggle, lesson, and life experience echoes through us when we rise to face the next challenge. Sonically it sits between soaring modern metal and dark melodic intensity: heavy riffs, emotional vocals, and a strong chorus designed to connect beyond genre fans. Cinematic in scope, ambitious in scale.

Ben Lazzaro has been playing guitar since 1982 and spent 13 years building worlds in the video game industry as a 3D digital artist. That background shows in The Resonance: this is metal made by someone who thinks in cinematics and narrative arcs, not just riffs. The Jungian framework and the AI-assisted production could easily feel like gimmicks. Here they feel like the natural output of someone who has spent four decades figuring out exactly what kind of artist he wants to be. We love it.

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Leafgarden – House of the Blue Light

House of the Blue Light hits with the confidence of a band fully arrived. Leafgarden’s production is thick, the energy infectious, and the chorus lands like a statement of intent

House of the Blue Light is a bold step forward for Leafgarden and the first glimpse of where they’re heading next. Written by the band and produced with Chris Highlander, formerly of Saturday Night Strike and Angry by Nature, the track marks their first time working with an external producer, and the decision shows. Recorded in their own studio, it delivers a powerful, focused energy with sharper production than anything they’ve put out before. The title pays homage to Deep Purple’s album of the same name.

Leafgarden are a classic-rock-leaning trio from Gothenburg, Sweden: Andreas Nilson on guitar, Jonas Rydén on drums, and Mathias Westman on bass and vocals. They’ve been honing their craft since 2015 and dropped their debut album Better Late Than Never in 2025. With streams and follower counts steadily climbing, House of the Blue Light suggests they’ve moved past the polite first-album phase and are pushing toward something with real gravitational pull. Live shows feel like the inevitable next step. It’s fantastic.

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From a Taiwanese-American songwriter’s acoustic forgiveness EP to a Saudi Arabian piano waltz, from Bradford folk-rock politics to Connecticut Southern rock about a pawn shop guitar, indie folk goes everywhere this week.

KENTON – Never Born

KENTON’s Never Born is the beautiful acoustic version of his Taiwanese-American forgiveness EP, six songs stripped down to the moments that hurt and matter most.

Never Born is a single from Sweetmouth (Sugar Free), the acoustic counterpart to KENTON’s 2025 EP Sweetmouth, featuring stripped-back versions alongside a reworked Bridesmen track. The project was inspired by his 2022 Thanksgiving visit to Taiwan to see his parents for the first time in nearly six years, and he describes it as “processing the shame, guilt, grief and anger” he’d carried while learning the art of forgiveness. On “Never Born”, that emotional weight becomes especially raw, posing the haunting question of existence and belonging. Acoustic doesn’t soften that, it just lets you hear every word.

The son of Taiwanese immigrants, KENTON grew up in Irvine, California, before settling in LA, navigating his queer identity and his traditional upbringing through music. The Sweetmouth title is his childhood nickname, given by his mother for the sweet words he used to placate her. He’s collaborated with Postmodern Jukebox and Scary Pockets, supported Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Kesha and Demi Lovato, and toured with Katy Perry as part of her Las Vegas residency. It’s genuinely beautiful, check it out below.

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Nick Cody And The Heartache – We Are The Many

Nick Cody And The Heartache turn raw political reality into stunning folk rock with cello, ahead of their next album Sweet Songs & Bitter Taste.

We Are The Many is the lead single ahead of Nick Cody And The Heartache’s new album Sweet Songs & Bitter Taste, due next month. The track is compelling, layering a lovely folk-rock guitar foundation under a heavy, urgent reflection on what’s happening in the world right now. It’s not subtle. It doesn’t try to be. The cello does the emotional heavy lifting while Cody points at the things he can’t unsee, and somehow it lands as both protest and confession.

Nick Cody And The Heartache are based in Bradford, UK, building a body of folk rock work with collaborators including Liz Hanks on cello and Agi on vocals. They’ve been steadily releasing through the last few years, and Sweet Songs & Bitter Taste, out next month, looks set to be their most fully realised album yet. Cody writes from a place of clear feeling, less interested in cleverness than in saying what he means while the band gives it weight. It’s important music for our times.

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Adam Wedd – here we go AGAIN

Adam Wedd wrote here we go AGAIN in his parents’ downstairs bathroom, then turned it into a stunner of a debut album opener about not letting people diminish you.

here we go AGAIN is the first single from Adam Wedd’s forthcoming album, written on guitar in the downstairs bathroom of his parents’ house and refined through Tipler’s mixing expertise. The track captures a spring-like energy that feels both timely and timeless, born from Wedd’s frustration with people who diminish others’ joy and potential. Channelling that into something life-affirming rather than bitter is the song’s real trick. Influences from Weezer, Frank Turner and Blink 182 sit just under the surface, but Wedd’s definitely in his own lane here.

Adam Wedd is a London-based multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, piano, sings, and produces. Drawing inspiration from Weezer, Frank Turner and Blink 182, he’s built a name with captivating performances and a refreshingly honest pop-rock sensibility. The full album drops on 24 September, with a launch show at Stratford’s legendary Cart & Horses, the venue that launched Iron Maiden. Expect him to be armed with his famous suitcase full of vinyl, tapes and CDs, and we for one, are very excited to hear the long player.

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Peningo Riders – Pawn Shop Guitar

Peningo Riders’ Pawn Shop Guitar is a six-minute Southern rock tribute to the American farmer, all real instruments, all weathered wood and all heart.

Pawn Shop Guitar is a six-minute Southern rock masterclass recorded live at Factory Underground Studios in Norwalk, CT. Written by Peningo Riders co-founders Eddie Pellon and Russ Davis with Nashville session musicians, the track is a gritty, soulful tribute to the resilience of the American farmer and the stories carved into weathered wood. There’s nothing AI here, nothing synthetic, nothing rushed. Just real instruments and real history, built for dirt roads and anyone who knows that an old guitar tells a better story than a new one.

Peningo Riders are Eddie Pellon and Russ Davis, originally Eddie’s guitar instructor, now his collaborator. Their music is rooted in Allmans, Marley, Skynyrd, Zeppelin, The Band and The Dead, with blues, zydeco, and an ’80s arena-rock streak. Their previous singles ‘Love Ain’t Everything’ and ‘Duck That Jeep’ pulled 25,000 streams in four months. Pawn Shop Guitar is their most ambitious recording yet, and the gateway to a wider Peningo Rider Nation that’s clearly building. We love it.

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AK.T – Unseen Waltz

AK.T’s Unseen Waltz emerged from long Riyadh nights at the piano, where each note shaped time almost unnoticed, until a beautiful waltz surfaced of its own accord.

Unseen Waltz is a haunting, minimalist single from AK.T’s debut project Specters, shaped in the quiet hours where time seems to slow and stretch. Built around a delicate piano motif, the track emerged gradually through repetition rather than intention, with each note guiding the next until a waltz form revealed itself. There’s a sense of steadiness in this, but also something wonderfully alive beneath it, subtle movements, echoes of rhythm, a feeling that the space isn’t entirely empty. The sound world is a compelling one, and I’m a particular fan of the harp in this, and also it’s conciseness.

Created in solitude, the piece carries a strange sense of presence, as if it was never meant to be played alone. That idea sticks in the background, an unseen listener, a quiet companion shaping the mood without ever fully appearing . As part of Specters, the track reflects on memory and distance, holding onto emotional fragments and letting them drift into something softer, less defined. It’s a composition that feels very much discovered. Essential stuff.

Four R&B tracks that lean into something specific: a White Plains industry veteran turning friction into form, a Blackpool neo-soul rising voice, a London-Ghanaian love song fusing Akan and Yoruba names, and a Louisiana Creole artist inventing her own genre.

C’batch – Trapped (I’m Doing Fine)

C’batch’s Trapped (I’m Doing Fine) is the rare R&B track where the groove and the vocals tell different stories, and the friction between them is the whole point.

Trapped (I’m Doing Fine) is a reworking of an original C’batch instrumental, now layered with lyrics and soulful vocals enhanced by modern technology while preserving its core emotion. The track lives on the contrast between a hypnotic, almost reassuring groove and vocals carrying an entirely different inner story, the feeling of holding it together on the outside while something heavier moves underneath. The production and sound world is fantastic, and there’s a huge amount of craft behind this.

C’batch is the artist name of Stephen H. Cumberbatch, a White Plains, New York composer, producer and guitarist with credits stretching back decades. He’s been an ASCAP member since the 80s and has co-written or produced tracks that have shaped club music history, including Sinnamon’s foundational 1983 anthem ‘I Need You Now’ (sampled in 100+ songs) and NV’s Paradise Garage staple ‘Let Me Do You’. With his label Stevette Music he’s still releasing original material that draws on a lifetime of grooves. It’s genuinely brilliant.

Lauren Eve – Your Friend

Lauren Eve’s Your Friend earns its warmth honestly: a neo-soul track recorded with a live band, exploring the underrated arc from friendship into love.

Your Friend is Lauren Eve’s third single, co-written with Simon Iredale and recorded at Rock Hard Studios with her live band. It blends neo-soul warmth with a clean, modern pop edge, exploring the journey of finding the perfect friend to become your life partner. The vocal delivery feels natural rather than overworked, and there’s a honest sincerity to it that lands straight away. What carries the song is its sense of Olivia Dean adjacent laid back ease, organic energy helped by the live-band feel running through every layer of the production.

Lauren Eve is a rising UK singer-songwriter blending soulful vocals with contemporary pop influences, born in Manchester and now based in Blackpool. She studied at MIT, where she sharpened her musical and creative skills, and has built a community of more than 25,000 followers across socials with only a handful of releases out. Your Friend is the kind of track that explains why: she’s not chasing a sound, she’s just becoming one. Genuinely worth following.

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Marco Lowrey – ABENA (OLORI)

Marco Lowrey’s ABENA (OLORI) merges Akan and Yoruba names into a love song, KC Beatz on production and Lowrey making the case for romance as culture, not cliché.

ABENA (OLORI) is one of Marco Lowrey’s most intentional releases to date. The title merges Akan, where Abena names a woman born on Tuesday, and Yoruba, where Olori means Queen, into a tribute to finally overcoming heartbreak and discovering true love again. Produced, mixed and mastered by renowned Ghanaian producer KC Beatz, the single showcases Lowrey’s vocal ability and his talent for crafting lyrics that forge immediate connections. It’s polished, deliberate, and carries the kind of vibe you can’t fake.

Marco Lowrey is a London-based artist born in England to Ghanaian parents, with formative time spent in Kumasi, Ghana, where his ear was tuned by the sounds of West Africa. His music is a fusion of R&B, Afrobeats, Highlife and hip-hop, all reflective of his own experiences and the music that shaped him. The voice and the flow are instantly recognisable, and he has a gift for crafting uplifting, catchy songs that lift moods without sanding down their meaning. I love it.

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Zióná Maré-Laveaux – Fold Me Like Sunday

Zióná Maré-Laveaux’s Fold Me Like Sunday introduces ZIONYX, her self-defined fusion of AfroSoul, alternative R&B and Louisiana Bayou, into a lane nobody else is occupying.

Fold Me Like Sunday feels less like a single and more like an introduction to an entirely new sonic world. Rooted in Zióná Maré-Laveaux’s self-defined ZIONYX sound, the track draws on AfroSoul, alternative R&B and Louisiana Bayou influence to build a distinct identity from the first bar. It’s rich, textured, and built to be felt as much as heard. The vocals sit at the centre, controlled and quietly powerful, while the production stays cinematic without losing any intimacy.

Zióná Maré-Laveaux is a Southern Louisiana Creole artist, songwriter, and visionary redefining modern music through her original genre, ZIONYX, a fusion of AfroSoul, alternative R&B, Louisiana Bayou Soul and ancestral frequency. Rooted in Southern warmth and global influence, her sound is both intimate and cinematic, designed not just to be heard but deeply felt. Fold Me Like Sunday is her opening statement, the kind of release that suggests she isn’t asking permission to define her own lane. It’s brilliant.

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Five summer tracks that hit the brief in five different ways. From a Birmingham reggae project reimagining Robert Calvert to a cinematic Afrobeats single rooted in Nigerian folklore, this week’s picks all find a different angle on warmth.

The Starfaders – Ejection

The Starfaders’ Ejection reimagines Robert Calvert’s writing through Birmingham roots-and-dub production, to stunning effect

Ejection is a homage to the lyrical brilliance of Robert Calvert, the Hawkwind frontman whose writing The Starfaders reinterpret through intricate roots and dub production. The track blends advanced AI-driven vocal production with classic analogue programming, engineering and mixing, taking a hazy retro atmosphere and pushing it into modern shapes. The result is something familiar and curious at the same time, less interested in nostalgia than in showing how good lyrics survive new sonic frames. A late-evening kind of summer banger.

The Starfaders originate from Birmingham, UK, coordinated by seasoned reggae producer Neil Harvey, who’s worked across the reggae and drum and bass scenes. The project is designed to explore the fusion of computer-generated vocal performances with traditional studio-based production techniques, providing a creative and contemporary reworking of Calvert’s original material. It’s an unusual brief executed with real care and quality, and Ejection is a fair calling card for what the project can do when the experiment lands. Great stuff.

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DJ Cards – Grab That Fall Feeling

DJ Cards’ Grab That Fall Feeling is melodic house from a Philadelphia attorney by day, producer by night, with festival-ready punch and headphone-walk intimacy in the same bar

Despite the title, Grab That Fall Feeling carries a warmth that fits straight into summer rotation. DJ Cards leans into melodic house energy, keeping things light, uplifting and easy to move with, the rhythm effortless while the melodic layers bring just enough emotion to stop it from feeling purely functional. It’s polished and festival-ready, but holds onto a sense of intimacy: equally good in a big open crowd or in headphones on a solo walk. Built to lift moods without overcomplicating things.

DJ Cards is an internationally featured EDM producer known for crafting uplifting, high-energy tracks that blend melodic depth with festival-ready intensity. His music has gained traction across global media outlets and radio platforms, building a rapidly growing international audience. Outside the studio, he brings a unique perspective as a Philadelphia-based attorney, earning him the nickname ‘The Lawyer Who Drops Beats’. The dual identity fuels a disciplined, detail-driven approach to production while keeping a bold, creative edge. We love this.

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Ladymakavelli – Selena Tested

Ladymakavelli’s Selena Tested is a wonderfully cinematic Afrobeats track inspired by a real-life story of a man who got shot and kept walking, rooted in Southern Nigerian folklore.

Selena Tested is a bold, cinematic release rooted in Southern Nigerian folklore and inspired by a real-life moment, the kind of moment where a man gets shot and keeps walking. Ladymakavelli builds the track around storytelling as much as sound, with a striking identity and a hook designed to grab instantly. There’s a balance here between narrative and rhythm that keeps things accessible, intense in places but never overcooked. It’s a track that stands out in literally any summer playlist by being more layered, more intentional.

Ladymakavelli is a London-based Nigerian artist known for her distinctive sound and electrifying, out-of-this-world stage performances. She has headlined iconic venues including Koko Camden, Legacy Live Lounge, and BBC Introducing showcases. Beyond music, she’s currently exploring neuroscience, researching the impact of musical nostalgia on people in comas, blending artistry with purpose and innovation. Selena Tested is the most cinematic version of that creative energy yet, the kind of track that announces an artist who isn’t doing this by halves. Essential stuff.

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Geo San Music – StrobeGeo San Music – Strobe

Geo San Music is the moniker of NYC multi-hyphenate George Sanchez, and Strobe is his fully self-produced answer to the festival culture of Ibiza.

Strobe is built for movement, blending driving rhythms with layered synth textures into a track that captures the visceral feeling of being surrounded by sound and light. Born from a pure creative impulse following Sanchez’s firsthand experiences in the EDM scene, the single is fully self-produced, with every element reflecting a single creative voice. The track is designed for both club appeal and emotional depth, balancing peak festival energy with atmospheric nuance, less a club tool than a fully realised artistic statement. It’s a real head nodder this one.

Geo San Music is the artist moniker of NYC-based multi-hyphenate George Sanchez, working from a home studio in the heart of New York and handling every facet of his releases himself, from writing to producing to shaping the sonic identity. He draws influence from the global electronic scene, particularly Ibiza’s festival culture, channeling that collective energy through a deeply personal lens. His philosophy is unfussy: live for today, trust your instincts, and create while the inspiration is real. It’s genuinely huge.

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SHENI – Shuga

SHENI’s Shuga makes the case for joy as a serious creative choice: irresistibly catchy, rooted in a real love story, and built fast because it had to be.

Shuga was born from a Saturday morning tea session that was missing one crucial ingredient: sugar. The track evolved from a spontaneous studio session with friends Shine and Fizzy into a fully realised production within hours. Co-produced during the COVID-19 lockdown, it captures a moment of creative freedom and romantic inspiration, with SHENI’s then-girlfriend in the studio influencing 80% of the lyrics. The result is irresistibly catchy and danceable, built on simple but effective production from snare to kick, with lyrics that come from a genuine place of love.

SHENI is a Bristol-based artist carving out a distinctive space in the UK music scene with a sound that’s as universal as it is personal. Known for creating what he calls ‘feel good moments’, his work is rooted in emotional connection and infectious energy that translates seamlessly from studio recordings to sold-out performances across Bristol’s thriving festival circuit. Currently in an experimental phase of his journey, SHENI works between his home studio in Bristol and professional facilities in London.

Pop with edges this week. From a tragic NYC noir-pop track named after Dionysus to a Nottingham dance-pop reclamation to a Dereham synthwave runway, five artists making the genre work harder than it has to.

Kiki Kramer – dionysus

Greek tragedy meets stunning NYC late-night noir, with Kiki Kramer comparing a parasocial obsession to Dionysus possessing a village of women in The Bacchae.

dionysus is the third single from Kiki Kramer’s forthcoming EP and it lands like a thesis statement. She compares a parasocial crush on a rising celebrity to The Bacchae, the Greek tragedy in which Dionysus possesses an entire village of women into ritual madness. Manson references soak through the lyrics, growling refrains like ‘with you boy it’s bacchic, one of Manson’s girls, yeah my king’s been crowned.’ It’s wonderfully grungy, cinematic dark-pop with a video to match, perfect NYC late-night noir.

Originally from Northern California, Kiki Kramer studied drama at NYU’s Tisch before going full-time on music, drawing influence from Marina and the Diamonds, Melanie Martinez and No Doubt. Her debut ‘relevant’ surpassed 600,000 views and earned SiriusXM Pop Off! and MTV rotation. She’s signed to Suretone Records, the label run by Geffen / MCA Records Group’s former president Jordan Schur. Three singles in, she’s clearly building toward a debut LP that means something. It’s great.

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AEvina – don’t wannabe a wannabe

AEvina describes herself as an alien in human drag, and don’t wannabe a wannabe is the banging, bedroom-recorded electronic-pop song that proves she means it.

don’t wannabe a wannabe is a bold genre swerve for AEvina, trading her ukulele-driven introspection for something built around Apple Loops and Splice samples. Recorded entirely in her bedroom, it sits somewhere between tropical house, electronic pop and synth pop, exploring identity, youth, and personal growth without losing the slightly surreal lens that runs through all her work. There’s a music video on the way and a European tour planned, and this single feels like the brief for the next chapter.

AEvina is a Jersey City artist navigating identity, perception, and contradiction through genre-fluid pop and electronic music. She often describes herself as an alien in human drag, and her work blends emotional vulnerability with a self-aware lens. Whether she’s writing on ukulele or pushing into dancefloor catharsis, the throughline is the same: figuring out what it means to exist, be seen, and keep moving anyway. don’t wannabe a wannabe is one more step into a sound she’s still defining. I can’t wait to hear what’s next.

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Carter Vogel – Close Call

Carter Vogel’s Close Call is a stunner of a bedroom-pop song about being someone’s right person at the wrong time, and the LA artist’s first real swerve into indie territory.

Close Call sits somewhere between bedroom pop and alternative, embracing the bittersweetness of fleeting summer romance and that ‘right person, wrong time’ moment. Vogel started the track on bass in the studio and says he immediately knew what it was about. Building on previous singles ‘Indigo’ and ‘Say My Name’, it leans further into his indie side than anything before, soothing as much as it hurts. There’s a quiet ache underneath the polish here that feels both new for him and inevitable.

A Baltimore native now based in LA, Carter Vogel started piano lessons at seven and was writing original songs by 13. His sound is rooted in jazz and blues, drawing on Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Alicia Keys, then pushed toward alternative pop. He’s a Berklee graduate who continued training at LAAMP, has played Hotel Café, The Troubadour, The Mint and Harvard & Stone, and toured the UK opening for Scouting for Girls. Close Call points to where he’s heading next, and I love it.

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Lucy Crisp – Snakes and Ladders

Lucy Crisp levels up with a modern dance-pop anthem about no longer waiting for validation, the first taste of her Wildcard era.

Snakes and Ladders is Lucy Crisp’s first release of 2026 and a sharper, more self-assured turn for the Nottingham pop artist. It pairs ambition-fuelled lyricism with hard-hitting, slick production, building a modern dance-pop anthem about taking back control of your own destiny instead of waiting for someone to grant it. The synth work has bite, the vocals carry confidence rather than apology, and there’s a ‘not letting the venom take control’ undercurrent that gives the song its real engine. It travels well.

Derbyshire-born and Nottingham-based, Lucy Crisp blends moody pop with wildcard behaviour, building intimate, confessional songwriting on top of striking synth production. She cites JADE, Imogen Heap, Robyn and Lorde as touchstones and lives in the space between vulnerability and defiance. Her 2023 debut EP ’65 Roses’, released through Youth Music’s NextGen programme, drew on her life with Cystic Fibrosis and led to a sold-out BBC Introducing East Midlands headline. Best of all? This just slaps.

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Balandor – Legs!

Legs! is the cinematic five-minute synthwave odyssey at the heart of Balandor’s 2026 collection, wrapping a workplace crush in mystery and runway-paced production.

Legs is the flagship single and foundation stone of Balandor’s expansive 2026 collection, a five-minute synthwave odyssey that wraps mystery and desire in layers of high-gloss production. The song tells the story of an unnamed workplace crush through evocative description rather than explicit detail. The extended runtime allows for a slow-burn cinematic build that mirrors a confident stride down a fashion runway, prioritising immersive atmosphere over immediate hooks. It’s built to soundtrack a late-night drive or a runway show, equally.

Hailing from Dereham, England, Balandor is a visionary independent electronic artist building a sonic universe where synthwave aesthetics meet high-fashion sensibility. He works entirely on his own productions, drawing on Duran Duran, particularly the seductive energy of ‘Girl Panic’. Each release is a chapter exploring the intersection of fashion, femininity and rhythm. Legs sets the high-gloss aesthetic that will define Balandor’s forthcoming 2026 releases, and the rest of the collection should reward early listening. More of this please.

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