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!
Moya Silk
What started as a mis-spoken shopping list item, Moya Silk has transformed from the musical creatings of Exeter, UK based Jaz Pearce into a rotating band of Devon based musicians with hints of shoegaze, grunge and post-punk. Drawing comparisons to 2010s indie artists such as Courtney Barnett as well as women in the alternative 90s scene such as PJ Harvey and Liz Phair, Moya Silk can be easily identified by Pearce’s powerful vocals, interesting lyrics and bright guitar sound. Written as Pearce was moving cities, ‘Grotbag Girl’ is taken from Moya Silk’s debut EP Services and Solutions out on the March 17 recorded at No Luck Audio in Exeter. “The song came from the realisation that both myself and a lot of my peers were worried about the “flaws in our appearance” when nobody else would’ve even noticed them,” explains Jaz. “It then transformed into an anthem of being a bit of an untidy and grotty woman, a part of my womanhood that had been kept only in my bedroom. I wanted to show the difference between the version of myself that the world sees – put-together, confident and polite, and the version of myself I wake up with everyday – messy, anxious and forgetful.” Listen below.
Fathom
Fathom is a Kiwi artist who uses her skill as a piano tuner to craft many of the instruments she plays in her workshop to create her own alt-folk soundscape that is truly unique. Her music is self recorded and takes inspiration from ‘70s folk-rock, jazz, and power pop. Her new single is tited ‘Wink of the Lighthouse’. “During the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, I began making experimental DIY musical instruments at home, developing them parallel to songs I was writing for what became my debut solo album, The World to Breathe,” says Fathom. “I fell in love with the instrument-making, and how my songwriting evolved with the instruments I created. Like many others, this period allowed me time to reflect. I arrived at the realisation not only that creating is a core part of my identity, but also that I had been suppressing that part of myself in favour of being a proper, serious adult. This song is a celebration of self-actualisation, of coming out as my authentic self.” Listen below.
In the Middle.
In The Middle. formed in 2015 after meeting in human geography class. Soon after both Mars (singer) and Apollo (instrumentalist) expressed their love for music to each other. They spent years writing hundreds of songs and practicing in a 100+ degree garage. Mars then moved to Los Angeles and Apollo to New York to see which city could give them the opportunities they needed. Over the past two years they took the best of the hundreds of songs they wrote together to bring you all the top 10. ‘Brain Games’ marks the first single from In The Middle’s upcoming debut album Brain Games. “Brain Games is an album made through years of pain, love, sweat, tears and other things that musicians normally say here. The album talks about escaping into your own head and finding everything you ever wanted, and then realizing it wasn’t what you thought it would be. It talks about facing your fears and never giving up,” the duo explain. They also created an entire comic book for you to follow along with the story of the album. With influences of rock, pop, hip-hop, rap, and EDM, they promise there is something for everybody. In this chaotically cohesive collection of songs and comic book story, In The Middle. takes the audience through an interactive audio-visual experience that makes you wonder – if you stepped into your own brain, do you think you could make it out? Listen to ‘Brain Games’ below.
The Pairs
The Pairs are thrilled to announce their forthcoming album, When Will We Find Our Way? “It’s an album that aims to engage people in hopeful conversations about making real change within ourselves. It’s about rethinking our purpose as humans, and cultivating a more vibrant and expansive way of being together on and with this planet we all call home. We’re not perfect, so why do we put so much energy towards trying to convince people that we are?” say the band. New single ‘Superhuman’ marks the intention to try and drop the hyper perfectionism and accept ourselves as fallible and human. “We don’t want “superhuman strength and sheer will,” we want softness and closeness and to be seen as the complicated, imperfect, people that we are.” The quirky harmony arrangements emphasize the story that we aren’t alone in our struggles with self-doubt. The accompanying parts uplift the narrative, a metaphor of the support we can find in community. The bridge is mostly a cappella with a stomp/clap feel to pull up the ‘last person still sitting’ before dancing us into a final chorus and outro with added guitar licks to make you close your eyes and smile. In all, the song is meant to make everyone listening feel like they are a part of this song, just as much as a band member with an instrument in their hand. ‘Superhuman’ reminds us how little time we want to waste on controlling how people see us. We can be wrong, make mistakes, say things that hurt people, and none of that makes us bad people, or unlovable. Listen below.
The Deep End
The Deep End are a duo from Budapest, Hungary with Zoe (Eternity Devil, novaturient eccedentesiast) playing all instruments and WGAS on vocals making music about the struggles of growing up as a (cis- and trans respectfully) women in a central european country full of oppression and hate. The duo create atmospheric multi-movement songs drawing inspiration from a variety of influences including shoegaze, post-rock and world music and often using field recordings of protests against the hungarian government. They have just released their new album Our National Tragedy which is a concept album about their experiences with growing up in an incredibly mysogynistic, everyphobic country as women in central europe, about fighting for your rights, and by the end about hope for the dark future. Check out the hopeful and concisefinal track of the album, ‘March, Protest, Hope’, below.
Haley Midgette
Haley Midgette is a Toronto-based actor and singer-songwriter from Scarborough, Ontario. Combining a classic folk sound with modern atmospheric elements, Haley’s music is driven by vulnerable, introspective lyrics, and melodies both elegant and catchy. Reminiscent of Sarah Harmer, Joni Mitchell, as well as indie pop artists like Julie Jacklin, her work reflects a relatable curiosity and desire to fully embrace the bittersweetness and ambiguity of life. A shy kid, she had an early love for music and performance, but finding the courage to sincerely embrace her artistic longings took time. She began performing publically in musical theatre productions in high school, and then at McMaster University, where she also studied classical voice. After taking a few years’ hiatus from the arts in her early- to mid-twenties, during which she attempted a 9-5 career, she began acting and writing more seriously. In 2020, she released her first EP, Carlaw Ave., which she described as “exploring tensions between the ties that bind and what we really want.” Her second EP, Artisan Guardian, which is out now is also an ultimately loving exercise in confession, self-confrontation, and self-expression. Haley expains of the title track: “‘Artisan Guardian’ is an attempt to explain a part of myself that I struggle to love, the helplessness I often feel when she takes over, and what I fear she might cost me. Writing the song and giving her a benevolent name felt like a step toward accepting her, a step toward a more stable sense of a truth that I glimpse in grounded moments: she’s a shadow of the things I love most about myself.” Listen below.
Mariele Jankowski
Since she was little, Mariele Jankowski has always been interested and involved in music and storytelling, being steeped in the many traditions, stories and songs from her childhood in the green hills of the BergischeLand (“mountain country”) in the far west of Germany. Her new song is caled ‘The Long Song of Mary Green’ and it tells about the human nature of wanting to reach the end-goal of eternal happiness, the one thing that’ll bring pure bliss, after which the search for it will finally come to its end. Yet, as it is in life, the world keeps turning and it’s the art of letting go of needing in orderto surrender and to enjoy the journey, not its destination. Listen below.
Remie
Remie is a Jamaican-Australian producer, singer, and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. Featuring a musical blend of Alt R&B and electronic genres, her new single ‘NODUS TOLLENS’ is out now. Drawing inspiration from artists like Dua Saleh and 070 Shake, her sound captures a dynamic sound elevated through her signature deep vocals and genre blend. “The inspiration behind the song came after reading the definition of Nodus Tollens,” Remie explains. “Derived from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, it ascribes meaning to the word as; understanding the plot of your life doesn’t make sense anymore. Writing this song from a perspective based on a collection of experiences, I speak on a process of letting someone go after only choosing to see the good parts of the relationship.” Listen below.
Canisha
Canisha is a soulful singer with an edge, a lyricist whose emotive and playful music captivates and draws you in. Canisha started her musical journey busking, with just an amp and microphone. There is a freshness and raw energy to her music that comes from her time busking on busy city streets. She feels at home when performing where she can be her raw and authentic self. In 2022, Canisha put herself on the map, performing alongside Adam Briggs, and other First Nations Artists at the Bad Apples House Party. This opened many doors for Canisha, leading to securing a slot at the 2023 St Kilda Music Festival and headlining Melbourne’s “Blak Stage” at the Retreat Hotel. Canisha’s debut single ‘Take You Home’, is a funky, soulful track that tells the story of when Canisha realised that she’d rather be alone than be with someone that treated her poorly and was only around when alcohol was involved. ‘Take You Home’ tells the story of Canisha finding the strength to leave a toxic relationship. Canisha has connected more deeply with her strength in writing this song and continues on her journey of empowerment in sharing her stories through music. Listen below.
ANGELCONCEPCION
ANGELCONCEPCION is an emerging Filipina R&B/Soul artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Philadelphia with influences from Jazmine Sullivan, Yebba, and Summer Walker. Her debut single is out now. ‘Like I Was’ combines an assortment of R&B/Soul-inspired sounds. An ode to unrequited love, the artist’s effortless vocal prowess layered over a powerful bassline along with a combination of multiple vocals conveys the uncontrollable and unbearable thoughts and emotions when experiencing heartbreak. Listen below.
Check out more of our recent submissions via the playlist below!
