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!
May Flower
May Flower is the musical project of Maja Koperska, an illustrator and musician from Poland, currently living in London. She’s been in love with music ever since she can remember and although she finished music school in the class of violin, her favourite part of music school was always choir. She owes her understanding of music to her parents, who brought her up with classics such as The Beatles, Tori Amos and Fiona Apple. She started writing her own songs around the age of 12, but started treating her music more seriously when she turned 17. She then went on to self-release her music as May A, performed at a few student festivals and got her song ‘Change’ played at one of the top radio stations in Poland, Radio Kampus. She’s back as May Flower now, with a refreshed dreamy and shimmering sound. She makes all her music and visuals by herself in her room. She hopes that her songs will (as Mary Oliver once said about poetry) keep her listeners company and be like temples or green fields – places to enter, and in which to feel. Her biggest influences are Kate Bush, Perfume Genius and Danny Elfman’s Alice in Wonderland soundtrack. Her single ‘no thinking, just growing’ from her EP Songs from Gardens is a layered and upbeat call to seek inspiration and solace in nature. It’s a shimmery and upbeat call to seek inspiration from nature. The sound was inspired by sounds of nature, like buzzing of insects, winds and leaves and the lyrics encourage the listener to unwind and let go, as if driven by natural forces. Listen below.
Gianna Alessi
New York native Gianna Alessi began crafting songs during her time spent at Boston Conservatory at Berklee School of Music. But, the journey really began when the singer songwriter’s grandmother — a former soprano at the Metropolitan Opera — gave nine year-old Gianna her first ever voice lesson. Since then, she has been storytelling through music and honing her sound. Cited for her honeyed vocals and soulful melodies, she draws influence from pop, r&b, and soul, fusing expansive harmonies with lush, electronic elements. ‘Lover For The Week’ is the newest offering from R&B artist. With a chilled-out, retro-inspired soundscape featuring horns, keys and expansive stacked vocals, the song explores the blurred line between attraction and alignment, where the future of a romance remains unclear. Co-produced by the artist and longtime collaborator Carey Clayton, the record introduces listeners to the pinnacle of Alessi’s artistry, offering a soundtrack that leaves the world spinning in slow motion for 3:37 of ecstasy. Listen below.
Shades Lawrence
Shades Lawrence is a Montreal-born hip hop artist of mixed British, Jamaican, Irish and Scottish heritage. Shades Lawrence’s music is about the emotion. To date, her sound has been compared to Ms. Lauryn Hill, Doja Cat, Mahalia, and Tierra Whack. Shades has shared the stage with a variety of artists, including Princess Nokia, Big Freedia, and Cakes da Killa. Shades Lawrence counts among her current influences; Drake, Cardi B, and J. Cole. Currently, Shades Lawrence’s sound encompasses soul-infused productions, and trap beats, with Drake-type emotional delivery, lyrics, and flow. Listen to new single ‘Waiting’ below.
Nyina
Twenty year old artist Nyina currently lives in Berlin where she is studying Popular Music. She grew up in a small village in an immigrant family and wanted to move to Berlin to finally show herself to the world. She recently release her new EP Look back with a smile. The EP is a story of healing and growing.. acknowledging the good memories but also the bad ones, learning from them and becoming the person you always wanted to be. Check out the song ‘Forever’ from the EP below.
Mary Jeans
Mary Jeans returns with a brand new single, which will perfectly introduce the artist’s flamboyant new world. ‘It’s Just A Phase’ deals with difficult issues that young adults face during their love and career journeys. Many individuals will be able to relate to the lyrics, which transport us into an emotion of confusion and a desire for empowerment. With a catchy melody and funk-inspired rhythmic music, the theme is softened by a warm and groovy atmosphere, notably thanks to Mary Jeans’s warm and textured voice. Written in collaboration with Pablo Couturier and with her musicians, Mary Jeans’s ‘It’s Just A Phase’ has everything to make you feel nostalgic, while setting the dance floor on fire! Listen below.
Catherine Elms
This third studio single ‘Monday Eyes’ sees Catherine’s rich vocals and haunting piano accompanied by an orchestral soundscape. Her confessional lyrics rail against the falsehood that we exist in a world where anything is possible, if only we prove ourselves to be “good enough.” The cinematic sound elevates this deeply personal and intimate journey into something powerful and universal. Speaking more on the meaning behind ‘Monday Eyes’, Catherine says: “I wrote this song during a bit of a quarter-life crisis, when trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I believed that if I just worked hard enough and proved myself worthy through collecting achievements, everything would fall into place, and success would findme. I realised that this is untrue. I found myself in a job that dampened my spirit, feeling like an awkward impostor, longing for something more, and mourning the future I’d envisaged for myself that never came. I think so many of us can relate to the feeling of getting to our twenties and entering the ‘real world,’ thinking “is this it?”. Realising that our future isn’t guaranteed and that we must forge our own path can be overwhelming and frightening – but it’s also liberating, if we let go of our preconceptions and the boundaries that society would place around us through convention. Finding our purpose and our own measures of success is the workof a lifetime.” Listen below.
Check out more of our recent submissions via our playlist below!