#moniah

This segment features artists who have submitted their tracks/videos to She Makes Music. If you would like to be featured here then please send an e-mail to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

Elly Kace

Elly Kace’s musical life so far has been defined by endless curiosity and passion. Already an established and acclaimed opera singer, her meandering and award winning career has found her performing across the world. But with her latest solo album, Nothing I See Means Anything, Kace breaks free from the traditions of the disciplines she’s spent her life studying for something boundary-pushing and danceable. It’s a pop album for fans of Björk, Kate Bush, and Lady Gaga. It finds relief in the journey and acceptance in not having all the answers, a reflection of her equally fierce adoration for yoga. Her first single 'Are you ready?' is about that first inkling that something is off before a catharsis comes. “During the writing I really wanted it to feel unrelenting but also unsettling- it is hard to find the beat and the pattern on purpose,” explains Elly. “In my experience, the only way to find peace and heal is to honor challenging feelings and experience them fully. To get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Then we can get clear on what action to take next. Sometimes I get sad that our culture often skips that middle step of really sitting with the hard feelings. Of course- you are love and light and peace and sunshine rainbows - but you are also more than that, and the experience does not always feel or look that way,. To me, the sooner we are honest about that, the faster we can get back to the truth and get to what matters- loving each other. "Are you ready" sort of sets up the whole album that way- because each track that follows is a catharsis for some big feelings around self perception.” Listen below.

Elly Kace · Are You Ready

Eva Gertz

Singer-songwriter and pianist Eva Gertz hails from Boston suburbia, raised by a jazz bassist father and a visual artist mother, culturally Jewish and proudly curly-haired. Currently, Gertz is adventuring and road tripping across the country to find where is next after Brooklyn, NY for six years. With an impressive background of classical and jazz training, directing and arranging for Broadway, singing and entertaining onboard cruise ships, and editing her own quirky and imaginative music videos, Gertz is sure to make a mark wherever she lands next. Not to mention, in live performance, the pure joy and uplifting reflection in her originals instantaneously connects her to her audience on a deeply personal and emotional level. Latest single ‘Still Friends’ is a modern indie bop about the love that still exists for an ex-partner, now friend. This new genre exploration for Gertz is her first collaboration with pop producer Paramind, who brings dance beats to an already emotive composition bursting with bittersweet nostalgia and hope. Gertz, whose music usually ends up soudning more acoustic in the folky-jazz pop realm, explains, “my feelings about the breakup came out this time as a four-chord, four-on-the-floor electro-pop song.” Listen below.

Eva Gertz · Still Friends

SEIDS

SEIDS is Las Vegas-based singer-songwriter and procuder Sabrina Seidman. She worked as a singer before the pandemic but when all of her gigs were cancelled due to COVID she started learning how to produce her own music. SEIDS has just released her new single 'Barely Holding It Together'. This track was produced, written and performed by herself. Mixed by Tay and Mastered by Jett Galindo. This track is unique because it was made entirely by women in a male dominated market. SEIDS explains further about the track: "The lyrics tell a shattering story about the difficulties of relationships and the effect each action has on a person's inner psyche. For the track I like to use intricate harmonies to portray emotion and a hot rhythm to set the mood. Hopefully others can find peace in their own relationships when listening to this song." Listen below.

SEIDS · Barely Holding It Together

Moniah

London-based singer-songwriter Moniah sings about unconditional love and communication on her new single, ‘the exchange’. ‘the exchange’ strays away from the typical song stanza format written in the style of a sonnet using only one line as the song’s refrain. Moniah has been singing and performing from a young age yet has challenged her own anxiety for years. Others would describe her as a ‘bedroom singer’ where her self-awareness helps evoke emotion into song – vocally and lyrically. Entering competitions in London and populating open mic night bars, she began taking her songwriting more seriously two years ago. “I wanted to write a song about unconditional love. A love that isn’t bound by conditions – which our society lives so strongly by,” she explains.”It might even be an imaginary type of love but I do believe it exists for the few who seek it. A lot of the discussion online nowadays is whether it is truly possible to love romantically and unconditionally. I would like to challenge that thought with this song and awaken the possibility or at least, encourage the dream.” Listen below.

Moniah · The Exchange

Placement

Formed by a group of creatives who have all had experience in previous well known projects, Australian-based Placement have emerged almost fully formed as a post-punk/noise collective. Through a juxtaposition of experimental tunings, dissonance, spoken word and rich vocal harmonies, Placement have quickly build a reputation for their ferocious performance art. Despite not having played outside of their hometown, Placement have attracted the attention of Endless Recordings, signing with the label to release their new single 'Lost Sun', which leads the band's forthcoming EP of the same name. Malia Wearn (vocals/guitar) on 'Lost Sun': “I heard the guitar riff that underpins the song and it instantly made me think of warm hypnotic Australian summer days. I spent many days in my childhood lying on the grass in our backyard lulled by the sun. I wanted the lyrics to tie into the memory of hot summer days, the haze, the lethargy, the pleasure of your body being fully warmed and getting too hot for a brief moment. The words came out all at once, written in my current Aussie backyard, the first time I put my headphones on to listen to the song after Alex had played it for me on guitar. I wanted the words to invoke the haze and the heat and the lethargy. The way temperature and scents can draw you back through time and connect you with submerged memories.” Like a shaken can of soda, Placement oscillate on a whim of explosive unpredictability; the nature of partially improvised angular guitar based music. Vocal harmony gives ways to Sprechgesang; taut rhythms disintegrate into free form noise; braying clarinet and saxophone intertwines with guitar white noise. Listen to ‘Lost Sun’ below.

Placement · Lost Sun

Lole Vietro

For her new single ‘Somebody Like You’, London R&B singer-songwriter Lolé Vietro has teamed up with BBE Music’s Maverick Quest. Channeling her Italian heritage and Quest’s Latin Jazz influences, the pair have delivered a Nova Soul inspired track which boasts some latin-flavoured instrumentation to underpin Lolé’s slick vocals and R&B delivery, as she cleverly layers her vocals to proclaim a message of self-love and self-discovery. Growing up in London as a 3rd generation Italian, Lolé’s heritage is of utmost importance to her identity. After exploring Italian artists over the years, she wanted to represent this influence in this release, as she explains: “I want my sound to reside in the space between - the crossover of Italian flavour with contemporary London R&B Jazz.” Listen to ‘Somebody Like You’ below.

Olivia Browse

An indie pop artist that fuses influences from bubble-gum pop to indie rock; Olivia Browse shows just how far those influences can be challenged with her brand new, hyper pop single, ‘Calendar Girl’. Originally from Essex, Olivia moved to Manchester, which is where she can be found performing - her stage presence is commanding, and she is usually accompanied by her bright yellow flower guitar. ‘Sad bops’ is the genre Olivia gives her music, as her songs are emotionally driven - but are not without a catchy hook for audiences to sing along to. Distinctive melodies paired with direct lyricism make Olivia's music enjoyable to any listener. In the typical Olivia Browse fashion this song contains witty lyricism paired with the usual boppy instrumentation and production from Shtum. However, this track stands apart from the other 3 singles Olivia has released due to its slight shift in genre and artwork marking a new era of music in store. ‘Calendar Girl’ was originally written a year prior to it’s release and was supposed to be a part of a side project that Olivia and her producer Shtum was working on together. After a year of having this ear worm of a song stuck in their heads they decided to release it under Olivia’s original artist name as they wanted the world to enjoy this track as much as they did. Not to be taken seriously, the song’s lyrics reference Calendars and seasons whilst also being a self-love anthem. ‘Szou’ is Olivia’s first ever feature on a track and has definitely set the bar high, the energy and quality of her vocals is unmatched and brings extra pizazz to an already lively song. She says, “This song may differ from anything I’ve worked on in the past but the one thing my four singles have in common is that they feel so typically me, the part that stays consistent is that they are consistently good, get your dancing shoes on and be a ‘Calendar Girl’” Listen below.

Aiela Angela

Aiela Angela, an independent artist who has made quite an impression for her songwriting, continues to build the momentum with the release of ‘Dance With The Devil’. The track unveils the story of a girl who managed to steal someone’s lover, with the devil being used as a metaphor for the guy who cheated. Aiela Angela, taking a wide range of influences from the likes of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Rihanna, invites her listeners into this new world she has created through her songwriting. From the sheer quality of her sound and the dynamic impact of her production, down to the image and the aesthetic of the project, Aiela Angela is definitely bringing a much-needed breath of fresh air to the pop scene. ‘Dance With The Devil’, produced by Machua Touchez, features a very memorable introduction, which will immediately hook listeners from the get-go. To seal the deal, the vocal delivery reveals the artist’s personality, and shows off the broad depth of sound that she has on tap. Listen below.

Celine Ellis

Celine Ellis has been playing guitar since high school and has been inspired to write songs ever since she was let loose on her parents’ record collections.   Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen and Melissa Etheridge (among many others) have been woven with Country and Americana influences to create her unique sound. Her latest single is ‘Fallen Angel’. Celine says “I wanted to acknowledge all those fallen angel’s who have turned their lives around and still work hard everyday to be the best they can be. I never wanted this to be about my experiences, even though there are some similarities. This song is for all those amazing people out there who are fighting back.” Breaking away from her home studio for the first time, Celine has been working with Matt and Tom Bishop of Inspire Music Studio in Staffordshire. The result is this dynamic track that replicates the emotional highs and lows of the story and lyric in its arrangement. Listen below.

Avery Raquel

From recording artist to radio co-host, busy Canadian singer-songwriter, and Billboard charting artist Avery Raquel has been entertaining audiences professionally for over 10 years. She’s released 3 solo albums to critical acclaim and airplay across the country and is now prepping for her self-titled fourth release in 2022. Influenced by artists such as Etta James, Carole King, Amy Winehouse, Lauryn Hill, Bruno Major, Allen Stone, and so many others, Avery’s created on this new collection of personal, yet relatable songs, a soulful fun mix of RnB/Soul and Pop, with a flavour of her Jazz, and Blues experiences. New single ‘Helpless’ is a punchy and colourful song with a touch of playfulness, inspired by an old relationship slowly seeing its end. She explains further: “Admitting that fact was the hardest part. When someone has a hold on you mentally, it’s hard to let them go, even if you know they aren’t meant for you. I explain through the course of ‘Helpless’ that it’s just little things keeping us together, but that can’t be the only glue holding the relationship.” Listen below.