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 helen@shemakesmusic.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!
Emily Sara
Following her release of single ‘Let Go of Losing You,’ Emily Sara is back with more music. The new song, titled ‘Aura,’ is a far cry from the vintage, big band sound of her March release, and takes on a cinematic quality, backboned with warm vocals, ethereal synths and pounding drums. In the lyrics, she relates her own love story to the myth of Ariadne who after being seduced and abandoned by Theseus, is found by Dionysus, God of wine and pleasure. They fall in love and on their wedding day Dionysus takes Ariadne’s jeweled crown and throws it into the sky, creating a constellation called the Corona Borealis. With a sound world inspired by the stars, ‘Aura’ shines with the peace and joy reflected in this myth and is meant to mimic in music, the pure love between the characters. Pulling from artists like Bon Iver, Melissa Laveaux and Wet for this single Emily Sara charts her own path in the indie soul/folk genre. Trained in opera, jazz, musical theater and pop vocal techniques, she draws from many genres and styles in her songwriting. Her last EP Mismatch explored identity and belonging as a Middle Eastern American woman living in the Midwest. Now located in Brooklyn, she continues to write on female identity in its multitudes through her personal experiences and through the eyes of female characters she’s met in film, literature and mythology. ‘Aura’ was written by Emily Sara, performed by Emily Sara and Alex Quade, produced by Alex Quade, and mastered by Gabi Grella. Emily Sara is a crossover vocalist, songwriter, actor and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. After studying classical voice and opera in college she decided to expand her vocal technique and write her own music exploring cultural and feminine identity. Listen to ‘Aura’ below.
Melissa
Melissa is a singer-songwriter who has always loved to sing and while growing up felt the need to express herself through music. An important thing for her is spreading a message through her music, helping people feel less alone and included. And it is what she did with ‘YOU’RE NOT ALONE,’ a song that express the concept of feeling alone even if you are surrounded by a lot of people. “This is because sometimes we see what’s in the surface and not deep down, but at the end of the song, there is a positive message, which is, that in reality we are not alone, we are all loved, we just need to start appreciating small things and to remind ourselves to appreciate life again,” she explains. Listen below.
Macie Nyah
Empowered, Pink and Punchy, Macie Nyah has already blazed her own pop trail. Her commercial production draws from her full on love affair with pop and with influences such as Anne-Marie, GRACEY and Fletcher, she infuses her fun personality into catchy melodies, with honest lyrics offering a shoulder as you navigate life. New single ‘Sugarcoat’ is all about your scary 20s. “I entered mine and I was quickly hit by the confusion they bring with them,” she says. “I felt so lost in all aspects of my life, and yet I wanted to always remain upbeat and so for a long time I ‘sugarcoated’ my problems in the hopes that they might just go away.” Listen below.
Heradel
Los Angeles-based Cuban singer, songwriter, and producer Heradel has been broadening her native musical landscape since her teenage years. Described as a stereotype breaker from the early stages of her career, her ethereal vocals, atmospheric synthesizer soundscapes, and hypnotic melodies emerged as a surprise from an unlikely origin. Born and raised in Santiago de Cuba, with little influence from the outside world, at fifteen, she began developing a musical project called Quidam Pilgrim, also known as Pilgrim. It combined a world of synthesizers, a post-rock vibe, and harmonized vocals occasionally set against orchestral backgrounds. Although there was no official album release, the music was quickly shared all over the country on a peer-to-peer basis, amassing a niche following throughout the island. Despite having its first-ever performance on Cuban national television, receiving a fair amount of media exposure, and having a positive critical reception, Quidam Pilgrim did not remain active for long. The project came to a halt once the singer moved to the United States at the age of twenty. After relocating to Silver Lake, Los Angeles, she began working as a composer in 2020, doing music scoring for visual media. With a comeback album in the works, she has shifted her creative direction towards a more experimental approach. She debuts as a solo act in December 2021 with a multimedia performance at the Bridge Projects gallery in Hollywood, California. Listen to her debut single ‘Mother’ below.
The Ways
New indie duo The Ways (Sally Way and Benjamin Way) have released their debut single ‘No Heaven’ – an upbeat chamber-pop gem for the summer. They began writing songs together in earnest at the beginning of 2024, and in a few months went from open mics to gigs and now their first single. Hopeless romantics, they got married the day after ‘No Heaven’s release! The Ways collaborate on all aspects of the music, lyrics, production and do everything themselves. They’re inspired by guitar based bands like Love, Suede and especially The Smiths – combining darker lyrics with a joyful ‘pop’ sound. ‘No Heaven’ captures this approach – exploring toxic relationships and the saccharine sweet desperation that keeps people entangled. Listen below.
Synthetik Blonde
Welcome to the electrifying world of Synthetik Blonde. Experience the hot, wet fusion of electrifying pop and hard-hitting rock. Fall captivated by their unique music with edgy female vocals, infectious hooks, pulsating beats, powerful guitar. ‘Dreams Of You’ is a well loved track from their sophomore album PIECES (a concept album that delves deep through an honest and fearless lens into the human condition while challenging societal norms). This particular song explores the occupation of that deep obsessive love and those that struggle with being held prisoner to it; we all know it; we’ve all felt it; been held captive by it. “There are times in our lives when we fall in love and the thoughts, feelings, desires for that person invade and occupy the entirety of the mind… even through sleep. Where every thought, feeling, and action feels directed, compelled by the intensity and borderline obsessive nature of this love. And it can’t be turned off… When you’re falling in love this is a welcomed experience for most, though for some it can be painful at times to love this deep. Does this change when the relationship ends, when one or both partners still have lingering feelings and thoughts lurking in the shadows of their mind; simply can’t escape the feelings they have for this other person; every waking and sleeping moment is still held captive… I wanted to write the song in such a way that whether fresh into that initial falling in love, or having freshly fallen out of love the listener could relate,” they explain. Listen below.
Chrissy Noa
Chrissy Noa is 19 years old and originally from Vienna, Austria. Last summer she moved to London to pursue her career as a singer-songwriter. She is currently studying Songwriting at ICMP. Music has always been a big part of her life thanks to her mum who encouraged her to join choirs and take piano lessons from an early age. When she was young her dad was the one who introduced her to artists like David Bowie, Nina Simone, and Amy Winehouse, and they still count as some of her favourites. Her musical style lies somewhere between Soul, Jazz, Pop and RnB. She is influenced by Olivia Dean, Cleo Sol, Norah Jones as well as Lizzy McAlpine, Billy Joel and Elton John. Her main goal in her art is to make people feel something, bring a little light and create a bright, warm and safe place. Her song ‘Little Highlights’ is about all the little things in life. “I like to call it ‘a love letter to my life and the people in it’. This song is the first single of the EP I am planning to release in late 2024 or early 2025. This project is all about faith, simplicity, minimalism, falling in love with a person and with life. I really hope that people connect to ‘Little Highlights’ and will make some beautiful memories to it,” she says. Listen below.
Nurdjana
Canmore, Alberta-based singer songwriter Nurdjana releases her new single ‘Dancing’. Of the song she says, “‘Dancing’ is an indie folk-pop song with a hint of Bossa Nova. The skeleton of the piece was written by my late father, Dutch musician Rob de Rijcke, while he was fading away from a terminal illness. It is a love letter to my mother, who has also since passed. The song is an ode to his deep gratitude for her standing by his side through thick and thin, to the intimacy they forged through enduring vulnerability. The experience of reimagining and posthumously co-composing this expression of my father’s love was very moving. I encountered moments of perceiving my parents’ spirits encircling me during the process. Their incorporeal presence reconnected me to a familiar warmth and sense of safety I hadn’t felt since they died. While the origin of ‘Dancing’ stemmed from anticipatory grief, the song is a beautiful declaration of love. Lyrics such as “You’re in a dream and I can see/ You’re in a dream with me” present a nostalgic retrospective of a shared, fulfilling life. My approach when reworking the song was to sonically convey a sense of contentment. When I brought it to James Clemens-Seely (Elizabeth Shepherd, Michael Occhipinti, Jens Lindemann) and Lucas Meijers (Kraak & Smaak, Ntjam Rosie, Janne Schra), who I co-produced alongside of, we worked to create a sunny, breezy vibe. I wanted the song to feel like something you would listen to on a warm summer day.” Listen below.
Summer Lee Carlson
Summer Lee Carlson is an American expat singer-songwriter currently living in Cambodia. Her latest project is a collaboration with UK expat producer Mute Speaker and a Live Beats inspired fusion of R&B, Soul, Blues, Funk & Jazzy Hip Hop, with a range of playful and thought-provoking themes and lyrics. She is heavily influenced by songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Janis Ian along with powerful female vocalists like Tina Turner, Barbara Streisand and Judy Garland. A new album, with producer Mute Speaker, began launching in a waterfall release, with ‘Respectable People’, in June. They are also currently performing these songs live around Cambodia via MPC. Latest single ‘Last Call,’ was produced from a homemade studio in Cambodia by American Expat singer/songwriter Summer Lee Carlson & Irish/UK expat Mute Speaker. It was written to convey that sometimes taking your power back isn’t done with a roar… But a firm and freeing realization that what you bring to the table has always been enough to move forward and then sitting down that person, project, relationship or job that is holding you back, telling them you’re done & walking away. Without a single look back and without apologies. Listen below.
Marina Ogalla
Marina Ogalla recently dropped her EP All Alone including her first single ‘Fine’, a story about the bitter end of a relationship, and being stuck while the other person moves on easily. In the introduction of her music to the world, Marina gives us her anger towards the indifference she seems on her ex while she revels on her sadness, after a recent break up. With this song, we get the angriest side of her, as part of the grief she feels for this lost relationship, which we keep exploring in the rest of the EP. With lyrics blaming both sides for this break, she explores the messiness of feelings that we all feel at the end of a story. The artist tells us “I just felt alone in my anger. I felt like I was alone drowning in sadness and grief, while he seemed “fine” which is what really inspired me” she continues “In the end, I realized it wasn’t true, I wasn’t stuck, and eventually I was ok, but I guess we are all a bit self-centered when we are feeling down.” Listen below.
Check out more of our recent submissions via the playlist below!