#rainlights

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!

Baby O

Olivia Pasqueralli, a.k.a. Baby O, is a Toronto-based queer musician. So far, she has released a handful of singles such as ‘Love Letter,’ ‘Fast Lane,’ and ‘29′. Now, she returns with her feel-good anthem, ‘N.G.B.,’ written about her experience growing up queer in an Italian-Canadian Catholic family. It's a playful and proud song for folks who might be experiencing a lot of self-doubt or are uncertain about their future. "There's a common pattern in my life – and probably in the lives of many women, femmes, and queers in general – sacrificing our own joy just to be pleasant and not abrasive to others," said Baby O. Listen below.

Rainlights

Rachel Chevat aka Rainlights is a singer-songwriter/producer and engineer based in NYC. After spending two years in London - where she received her Master's degree in Audio Production, Rainlights is now ready to share her dreamy music with the world. Through a life of seeing colors when hearing sounds, Rainlights is inspired by her synesthesia. By using melodies to recreate images sonically, the artist combines her soothing vocals, her storytelling and her cinematic productions to create dreamy-pop/folk records that will make you feel a sense of belonging. Self-written/produced/mixed, ‘When My Phone Dies’ is about the feeling of being alone with no access to distractions. "One day last summer, while sitting on my bed and scrolling through my phone, my screen went black. Instead of immediately grabbing a charger, I looked up from the screen and let the silence of my room wash over me. I hadn’t been home in nearly two years. It was the longest I’ve ever been away. I was living in London and creating a life for myself there. The only thing that made New York (home) still feel tangible was my phone. That’s how I saw the faces of family and friends, that’s how I heard their voices and stayed connected to their lives. If I told you I loved you with a paper and a pen, would it feel more real than this neon blue message? That’s the question I sat with when my phone died." she explains. Listen below.

Rainlights · When My Phone Dies

Olivia Barton

“Halfway through the Lion King, you took my virginity" is the opening line of Olivia Barton's newest single, ‘Erotic’ - cutting right to the chase, in true Barton fashion. Every line reveals more gravity than the one before: "One night you brought out all your toys / I was young, I didn't know I had a choice." Olivia cracks open her most formative and heart breaking relationship for us all to see, having no more energy to make it palatable. A far cry from simply blaming an individual abuser, ‘Erotic’ sheds blaring light on one woman's complicated sexual development, suppressed by a puritanical childhood and reinforced by her first experiences of sex in adulthood. “I almost didn’t even write the song. I got halfway through and thought ‘God, this is too graphic. No one needs to hear this. No one is going to get it.’ And then I realized the worst part, which is that a lot of people will get it. But even still, I wasn’t trying to make a statement or speak for anyone. I just wanted to finally get it out of my body.” Olivia Barton writes songs that sound like stream-of-consciousness journal entries-because they are. With determined grit and radical self compassion, she asks and answers questions in realtime, taking you through a “diary of the healing process” (Sound of Boston). Her upcoming album titled This is a Good Sign is set to be released summer 2022. The 90s inspired folk pop songs live in a playful but raw sonic space somewhere between Sheryl Crow and early Angel Olsen, asking to be both screamed through open car windows and cried to on a solo late-night walk. Listen to ‘Erotic’ below.

Lexie Palms

Originating from the sun-soaked shoreline of Porto and now living in London, singer-songwriter and producer Lexie Palms launches her self released and self produced latest single, the ethereal and soulful ‘Parachute’. Lexie has her focus firmly set on creating emotive songs fuelled with colour, spirit and feeling. Oozing a confident, comforting warmth, her smooth and sultry vocals dust over textured and undulating synth lines, culminating in a proud fusion of her Mediterranean roots combined with threads of her vibrant, modernistic city life. Following on from her debut release ‘Can It Be Me’, and her collaboration with artist Carlos do Complexo on ‘MiSTAKES’, Lexie invokes a more minimalist production to uncover her soulful vocals. Her use of patterns and repetitive lyrics represents cyclical thoughts and the anxieties we face today. 'Parachute’ is a contradictory stream of consciousness transmitting melancholy and serenity in equal measure. Listen below.

Lexie Palms · Lexie Palms - Parachute

Bitter Suite

Bitter Suite is a former two piece, recently turned 4 piece indie band based in Glasgow. Each member has played in past and present bands of different styles to bring a mix of influences and collectively, members of Bitter Suite have toured Europe, played a sold out King Tuts and performed as part of Celtic Connections. 2 members – Sam and Angus – also make up part of the alt rock band Scunnurt. New single 'Anywhere' was written by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Eve Sutherland, recorded and mixed by bassist Robert Campbell with lead guitar from Sam Braes and drums from Angus Richardson. The song was developed fairly quickly and recorded on a whim in Robert’s home studio. The band has a lot of different influences as they all have pretty different taste in music however this track was largely inspired by Alvvays, Big Thief and Wolf Alice. Whilst the lyrics to ‘Anywhere’ tell the story of a naive longing, the music grabs hold of the optimism to pull you up to dance. Listen below.

NNENNA KING

After the release of her single ‘Focus On Me’, NNENNA KING is back with another soulful single ‘Good Guy’. ‘Good Guy' is a perfect blend of Soul, R&B with Hip Hop elements. NNENNA has stayed true to herself by making her sultry tone the centre of attention. Being often compared vocally to the likes of Lauryn Hill, Lianne La Havas and Amy winehouse, the single introduces the commanding vocal of NNENNA, delivering a relatable and catchy lyrical narrative. The lyrics are direct, purposeful and get straight to the point. The inspiration for the song came after NNENNA dated a guy who called himself a ‘Good Guy’, but as time went on NNENNA began to see his true colours and began to question how good the guy actually was. NNENNA is stating exactly how she feels about the situation and isn’t holding back. The single is produced By Jamie White, an up and coming producer from Bedfordshire who specialises in Hip hop and is able to incorporate traditional Hip Hop sounds with a fresh contemporary twist. Listen below.

GALAXII

GALAXII is the pastel-coloured electro-pop sensation guaranteed to brighten your day. Hailing from Northern England, GALAXII grew up in a musical family - the perfect launching pad for her own career. Honing her craft over the last 14 years, she gained a music production degree from Leeds Conservatoire, gigged across the UK in bands of varying genres, performed at conventions and on live radio, and even supported acoustic star Ben Howard. Now in 2022, she's developed her own brand of Pop, taking inspiration from K-Pop and Japanese electronica. Her sound is a cheerful melting pot of bubblegum Pop, Game Boy bleeps, Trap breakdowns, LoFi beats and more, but don't mistake her for being 2-dimensional - her music can have a badass bite when it wants to. GALAXII's debut EP, Unapologetically Me was released on March 14. EP track ‘Never Turn You Down’ is her happy, hyper electro-pop track that's influenced by J-Pop styles - “I threw in some legit Game Boy sounds for that nostalgic nerd feel,” she explains. “Lyrically, it's the perfect soundtrack to catching feels for a friend and taking your relationship to the next level." Listen below.

GALAXII · Never Turn You Down