Fundkiste

Dear Readers, this week we have exiting new artist on our Spotify Playlist “indiepop- the best upcoming artists”. New this week: Ela Ira, Jboz, Halan, Keren Ilan, Bethan John, Sera & Sait Paul Shepherd.

Ela Ira

Ela Ira is a Berlin based singer and producer. With her Debut Single “Nothing to it” she is new on our spotify playlist. The melodic synths and her her wonderful voice set the tone of this song. Her artistic influences have been James Blake, Alicia Keys, Banks, Lana del Rey, Sylvan Esso, and Kate Bush. Ela Ira aka Elizabeth Boardman is a classical trained musician, who won the US Songwriting Award with her previous band “White Night”. 

You can find her song on the playlist now.

Jboz - Where You Go

Jboz is a Producer, Songwriter and Singer from San Diego.

His song “Where You go” is a very chilled summer song. His unique vocals get under your skin immediately. The instrumental is defined by a very sweet piano sound. He describes the song himself as “(...) a melodic summer pop song. That you can dance to but also sit and vibe to the lyrics and diving in to the emotions of wanting to be around the one that you love.”

You can find his song on the playlist now.

Halan - I don’t know you

Omg we love this song. I don’t know you by Halan is now new on the playlist. “I don’t know you” is the first track on Halan’s  Debut Ep “Best Intentions”.

Its a very dreamy track, melancholy and dark. However it has a lightness to it that comes through the very sweet vocal tone.

Halan is a singer-songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles. She dabbled in various music projects during and after college, which included singing in 80's rock cover bands and in an original theatrical metal band, before finally pursuing her own solo alt-pop and dream pop project in 2019. Her music influences span many genres and include The Weeknd, Tame Impala, Meg Myers, Lana Del Rey, and Author & Punisher.

You can find her song on the playlist now.

Keren Ilan - So many times

Keren Ilan turns heartbreak into an ode to melancholy on her upcoming release “So Many Times”. The track showcases the singer/songwriters mesmerizing vocals, understated guitar work and a knack for delivering an instantly recognisable melody. Accompanied by a spontaneous video showcasing a stately empty mansion in Umbria, Italy and the stunning surrounding scenery.

The video is something we really suggest watching. It sets such a nice mood and illustrates the song perfectly.

Keren Ilan was born in Vietnam and adopted when she was just one week old by the couple who she considers her biological parents. Still, these circumstances have had an undeniable impact on her and, by consequence, her art. Drawing influences from indie and new folk artists Keren sticks out both visually and musically in the landscape of Tel Aviv, the city she calls home.

You can find her song on the playlist now.

Bethan John - You and I

“You and I” is the new single of islandic Singer Bethan John. Its a very catchy song we added to the playlist here. She says about the song “This song is a testament to our story, and us growing as people and as writers. Even though we are experimental with our music, and we like trying out different sounds, we have found that You and I is a sound we want to move forward with.”

We recommend listening to this song as well as checking out Bethan Johns other releases.

You can find her song on the playlist now.

Sera - Switch

This one is a more folky one. With the very nice guitars and the vocal melodies we have a nice americana tune in our playlist. 

Its the brand new  single by Welsh singer-songwriter SERA (Sera Zyborska).Once again working with acclaimed producer Andi Crutwell-Jones, plus the notable contribution of Nico CJ on violin and Len Whitehead on Electric guitar makes a full-sounding, statement of a song that again blends all SERA's favourite parts of Americana, folk and pop with her storytelling and folklore album theme.

You can find her song on the playlist now.

Saint Paul Shepherd: Thinking of you (Thinking of me)

Thinking of you (thinking of me) is also new the playlist. It’s a very cool and mellow pop track. The song has such a nice mood for a Sunday morning. We recommend  listen to it with a coffee in bed. 

Saint Paul Shepherd is a UK based writer // producer and label owner working with unsigned vocalists from the UK, US and Europe. Splitting his time between studios in Canning Town (London) and home in Cardiff (Wales), Shepherd masters all of his tunes at the infamous Abbey Road Studios, and has amassed around 40,000 Spotify streams in 3 months.

New Fundkiste Podcast Episode online

listen to the whole Episode here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Ja38RutlQdRSyXGrchnuq?si=sjOWzED5TTSx2EH6bSto1Q

featuring: The Bergamot, Me & The Monster, Moodbay, INGO, BORG!

JEREMIAS - schon ok

Luan Mei - Elements!

We love this song! Its an all time favorite on our playlists! Hands up for Luan Mei!

From Madrid to Brighton, UK.

Luan Mei's sound is like the sun: warm, energetic and welcoming. A blend of influences from pop, indie, soul and funk genres. Her fingerstyle guitar work adds a very rhythmic edge to her writing, which beautifully underpins her catchy melodies. Her unique voice and her energy when playing challenges anybody to remain indifferent.

Backed by a band of skilled musicians (Sam Preece on the bass and Daniel Pimblett on drums), Luan Mei, combining different genres as her natural way of creating music, has the power of bringing the audience inside her vibrant and rhythmic style of playing the guitar blended with her characteristic and hypnotising tone of voice.

Luan Mei released her debut single ‘ELEMENTS’ on May 2019, which caught everyone’s attention and has been played at BBC Music Introducing several times, Radio Reverb and Platform B Radio. She has performed in venues such as Latest Music Bar in Brighton or Alevosía in her hometown, Madrid, and at the festival The Great Escape 2019.

111- Light (Monk Deep Ambient Edit)

Matt Holubowski - Two Paper Moon

Just discovered! What a beautiful Song and Video!

released today!

Who is  Matt Holubowski?

Matt Holubowski’s career has really taken off since the 2014 release of Old Man, a collection of folk songs inspired by his many trips and experiences around the world. The watershed moment would be the release of Solitudes, two years later, on the Audiogram label. Produced by Connor Seidel, just as the previous and upcoming ones, the album introduced him to a wide audience who discovered his mercurial voice and captivating songs. Matt earned a Gold record for Solitudes as well as two nominations at the 39th ADISQ Gala, for Album of the year and Concert of the year–Anglophone categories. The Solitudes tour that followed the album’s release had him criss-crossing Canada, the United States and Europe, to perform nearly 200 concerts.

In the Spring of 2018, he signs with the German label Motor Musik and the French label Yokanta, distributing Solitudes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Belgium. Soon after, he participated in the Printemps de Bourges, toured as the support act for American artist Ben Folds in more than a dozen cities across Europe, and performed in London’s Meltdown Festival at the invitation of Robert Smith, singer of The Cure.

After returning to North America, Matt appears at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, at the Festival d’été de Québec (where he earned its prix Espoir), at the Regina, Ottawa and Winnipeg folk festivals, and at Osheaga Festival in Montreal. Following a series of concerts in the eastern United States in 2018, Matt crosses the Atlantic once more as the opening act for Swiss artist Sophie Hunger on a number of European cities, before returning to close the Solitudes tour in Montreal at the Corona Theater.

Early in 2019, Matt opened for singer-songwriter Dan Magnan in eastern Canada, a last waltz before retreating to the woods for two months in Banff, Alberta, to devote himself to writing the songs for his next album, which is set to be released in 2020. Slowly moving away from folk, he explores new sounds and fleshes out his songs’ arrangements in collaboration with his musicians, guitarist Simon Angell, bassist Marc-André Landry, drummer Stéphane Bergeron and cellist and keyboardist Marianne Houle.

In July, Matt momentarily paused his retreat to present the closing event of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, a memorable evening for both the artist and his audience. The following day, La Presse writes: “Holubowski touched us with grace, sincerity and sensitivity. He also has a charisma which cannot be glossed over, it was so captivating”.

White Night, ZUSTRA & CALMDOWN at Fluxbau (Berlin)

On March 29th 3 Indie Bands from Berlin share a concert at Fluxbau Berlin. 

Get your Tickets now:

https://www.show4me.com/campaign/white_night_at_fluxbau_1571394405

About the Bands:

WHITE NIGHT

White Night is an alternative electro-pop band based in both Berlin and San Francisco, founded in 2017. The German-American duo draws inspiration from 1980s pop, classical music, contemporary-classical music, and jazz.

The members, Willi Leinen (electronics, guitar) and Elizabeth Boardman (vocals, viola), in addition to being songwriters and producers, are classically trained musicians who perform on guitar and viola/baroque viola, respectively.

CALMDOWN

We will win Darling!! A phrase that became a motto. Also one of the very first tracks from Elisa – Irini Vidalis aka CALMDOWN back in 2014 that got the attention of press and listeners. CALMDOWN originally comes from Tinos Island, Greece, and is a fully independent musician who writes, composes and produces all of her music the last 5 Years. She poetically explains how vital music is to her: “ Through music you feel a moment that you already lived in the past, or a moment you will live in the future or a moment you will never have at all. It travels with you and saves you.”

ZUSTRA

ZUSTRA ist das Musikprojekt der gebürtigen Kroatin Ariana Zustra, die in Berlin lebt. Als Popjournalistin schreibt sie nicht nur über Musik – als Singer/Songwriterin und Produzentin macht sie auch selbst welche. Als Kind musste sie wegen des Krieges ihre Heimatstadt Dubrovnik verlassen. Ihr elegischer Indie-Pop beschäftigt sich mit der Suche nach Austausch im Innen und Außen.

Diverse Blogs besprachen ZUSTRAs Musik mit Begeisterung: Poule d’Or etwa beschrieb ihre Single “The Words” als “dark dream pop that develops into a full blown James Bond theme”, der Brooklyner Musikblog Audibl. Wav verglich ZUSTRA mit PJ Harvey.

 Joplyn - Same Old Same Old

JOPLYN​ is a young and upcoming ​songwriter, piano player & vocalist​ from Berlin and her last electronica​ singles have already been remixed by electronic heavyweights such as ​Booka Shade, Robot Koch & HOSH & Florian Kruse!

“Same Old Same Old” was inspired by how jaded and repetitive life can seem. The daily routines that are sometimes extremely suffocating, and leave you feeling uninspired and uncertain of what you’re actually living for.

Two of the main lines of the song are “same old same old stuff on the news” and “same old same old promise for you.” Here the lyrics transcend from talking solely about the weariness of one’s personal day-to-day life, into discussing human conflict and ideals in general, which are ever so predictable and rigid.

Finally, the monotonous melodies of the verses are disrupted by a cry-like “I just want to break through this loop.” Both musically and lyrically, this line represents a crack in the otherwise perfect and planned-out routine. A cry for help in a world that is living life so unconsciously, that it fails to notice the beauty in doing the unexpected.

The song starts with an acapella vocal chant before the straight beat kicks in. In the verses JOPLYN delivers a very repetitive rap chant which complements the simple but effective vibe of the song.

The minimal bass only stops for some quirky FX sounds and looped vocal chops and weird drum breaks. In the end, the acapella church-like vocal chant reappears in a breakdown, before the big finale happens where the driving rhythm gets pushed with some big synth chords.

Listen here:

ÄTNA – MADE BY DESIRE

The recent single of ÄTNA “Made by Desire” is the title track of their upcoming Album. It will be released on February 14th. Its a catchy synth-pop track. Dreamy vocals with a melody that stuck in ones ear. 

Can’t wait for the album to come out!

Listen here: 

Soundcloud

Spotify

Website:

http://atnaofficial.com/

Live

Me & The Monster - My House

In 2017, four musicians from different countries met in the concrete jungle of Berlin and created “Me & the Monster”, an international indie band.

Running barefoot through their youth, the four musicians had to fight their first battle: Cultural and linguistic differences stood in the way of thoroughly understanding each other. But in the end they found their common language: music.

Due to their international background, the band played with their diverse influences, causing indigenous, south-American elements to merge with electronic features and creating what the band today describes as “tribal electronic progressive Indie” - A mix of catchy vocals, groovy rhythms and challenging lyrics.

HARINA- Nothing

New release by Harina!

Harina is a German singer-songwriter who left her dentistry studies in 2016 in order to move to London and become an artist. She absolved a bachelor degree at Bimm London and was quickly signed to Polydor Germany with her duo project „Zazoo“.

What does the artist say about her song:

In the past other poeple’s expectations have led me into confusion and made me lose my intuition when making important decisions.

The wrong guidance has pulled me away from my initial plans and put me into a state of self-doubt.

We live in a society and I work in an industry where profit is everything. the ultimate advantage is a hefty pocket. Hence, people in powerful positions can make empty promises and sell faulty dreams in their boundless thirst for money by packaging them as the one-way ticket to success.

The whole message behind “Nothing“ is the realisation that these promises are not always made in good will and might not lead you to a place you want to be in.

I’ve reached a point where I’m letting other peoples opinions go and seeking my own way to find fulfillment. Nothing, absolutely nothing will stop me from doing what I want.

Spotify Link:

BORG - Scuba Diving!

just discovered! Listen to this beautiful track!

Scuba Diving tells the story of growing up.

After having spent a few years in different musical collaborations, lending her unique voice to acts as different as The Honeydrips and Olov Antonsson, Amanda Ingeborg Runestam is now releasing her debut EP, ”Honest and Cool”, under the solo name of BORG.

The Bergamont: L.A.

A very very nice song we got here. Made my day! L.A. by The Bergamot is such a good dreamy pop song and its a true  feast for the ears and eyes! We are more than happy to have them on the podcast soon! Check them out. So worth it!!

Socials: https://www.facebook.com/TheBergamot/

Harina - Last Christmas (Acoustic Version)

Another find even though Christmas is over this acoustic version is so worth listening too!