Eilish Segued from SoundCloud to Sweeping the Grammys, so We Serve up New Indie Music
Never say never.
Less than 5 years ago, indie teen singer/songwriter Billie Eilish put her hypnotic song “Ocean Eyes” on music streaming platform SoundCloud. A soulful music video for the tune was released in March 2016, and began garnering over 200 million views to date.
After some clever strategy and marketing, you know what happened next.
At the recent 2020 Grammys, still teenaged Eilish completed a GRAND SLAM, earning the big four — Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist — along with Best Pop Vocal Album.
In honor of indie artists like Eilish, who dare to dream, I’ve compiled a short list of new artists to look out for with notable tunes on music sharing platforms like SoundCloud and Spotify: Saving Teien, Harris Breyfogle, Stefan T., Cannibal Kids, Perfect Blue, and Officer.
First up, I’ve known Vanessa “Teien” Kamevaar since she was an enthusiastic kid doing her song and dance. Now, she’s a young lady and half of the musical duo, Saving Teien, from Toronto, along with multi-instrumentalist Anton Savytski. With soulful vocals, ambient guitars and electronic elements, Saving Teien is a synthesis of soul and science that makes for a sound that’s kind of cool and whimsical. The duo is performing some of its original tunes on February 05 at “Raw” an event for indie artists at the Mod Club Theatre in TO’s Little Italy. Two of their originals include the very listenable “Sinner” and “Stars.” You gotta dream big.
Next up is Harris Breyfogle’s new single on SoundCloud, “Still Feel Like I’m Losin’ You,” which is from his upcoming full-length album Complexus, due out in Spring 2020. The tune is soulful and sweetly sad, yet moves along. It’s great to hear guitar again wailing away, accompanied by a nice funky bass. It’s just a catchy love song.
Electronic-pop/experimental producer Stefan T. has a single, “Keep Me Guessing,” out from his upcoming album, Night Shift, due out Spring 2020. The earnest vocals telling of a “twisted relationship” reveals a yearning about what’s really going. Then some lovely guitar work breaks through. Once again, it’s so great to hear lovely musicianship, and not just beats and confection. There’s even a guitar solo even, wow! We look forward to hearing this music live.
Quirky, indie pop/alt-rock act, Cannibal Kids, have released the track “Voicemail” ahead of their album deadheads, out February 21. From Homestead, Florida, the tune is musically upbeat and jaunty, no doubt influenced by growing up in the Sunshine State. As Surviving the Golden Age puts it, “….the track’s yacht rock vibe is reminiscent of Hall & Oates…”
Alternative indie band, Perfect Blue, have released their new single, “Guilty” from their forthcoming album, and there’s a lot of textured musicianship on the song — a wall of sound, along with Siouxsie-like vocals. The tune reverberates with goth/new wave legends like The Cure and Interpol. And, the debut album continues this plethora of good musicianship with band members playing multiple instruments on each track. Expect a terrific treat.
Finally, there’s Officer, an Irish London-based, dark indie soundscape group that has debuted its first single, “Pylon Moon,” from Night Tennis, out on February 28. The first single generates personal reflections over atmospherics, which becomes almost hymn-like. It’s being described as generating “a sense of deep time and space, particularly towards the future.”
Check out these tunes on those music sharing platforms because these indie artists are dreaming much like Billie Eilish did when she first recorded “Ocean Eyes” at age 14.
