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!
Francesca Luker
Francesca Luker’s genre splicing new single ‘Nobody Seems’ is out now. Channelling the likes of Willow Smith, H.E.R and London Grammar, Francesca creates a sound oozing with smooth R&B vocals and emotive piano chords, enriched with distorted guitar in the chorus. ‘Nobody Seems’, with its figurative lyrics, expresses Francesca’s struggles to find mental clarity and form healthy relationships as a neurodivergent woman navigating today’s chaotic world. Listen below.
Kelley Elle
Kelley Elle is an artist/producer who grew up in Atlanta and as of 3 years ago is based out of Nashville. She has been invested in the electronic pop/dance music scene since she was allowed internet access, and started producing tracks to sing over for fun about 4 years ago, fell in love with that and started releasing music. Her new single ‘Not Your Fault’ is out now. “When I wrote this song I was processing a relationship in my life that was falling apart,” she explains. “It’s about loving someone so much that you conclude it’s best to stop trying to change them. The chorus is “I think we’re right where we’re supposed to be”, nodding to the peace you find when you stop trying to force a favorable outcome.” Listen below.
Andie Mechanic
Andie Mechanic is a singer-songwriter born with the inexplicable need to call out every elephant in the room. She thrives on the most uncomfortable and deep-seated of feelings, because to her that’s where she’s most comfortable. Armed with infectious melodies, ear-scratching production, and a will to push lyrical boundaries, Andie is creating a sonic world all her own. Andie Mechanic’s new single invites you into a horror-movie recounting of your worst mistakes, and forces you to look them square in the eye. With glitched out production and lyrics pulled straight from the soul, ‘Clinton’ is not for the faint of heart, but for those of us who will rip off the bandage and talk about what’s underneath. Listen below.
Maddie Rae
Introducing Melbourne artist Maddie Rae, coming onto the scene with her dark introspective track ‘Watching Me’. ‘Watching Me’ carries us through wave after wave of Maddie’s inner musings, expertly weaved together with a gentle yet unsuspecting intensity, culminating together in a perfect ebb and flow. Her maximalist clutter-core style is a wonderful assault on the senses, and her music is no different. Ranging from the softest of piano tones, to the grittiest driving guitar, ‘Watching Me’ moves seamlessly and effortlessly between every extreme. With clear influences from iconic artists such as Billie Eilish and Australian artist Kat Edwards, Maddie Rae brings forth her own individual voice to the pop scene through her thoughtful and insightful lyrics. Listen below.
Tess Becket
Tess Becket releases her debut single ‘Toxic,’ which is a bare indie rock ballad with poetic lyrics and an emotional vocal delivery. Written about a loved one going through a psychotic break, this song is a simmering reflection on returning to a dark, problematic relationship. Inspired by other queer singer-songwriters and producers, like King Princess and Julien Baker, Becket co-produced and wrote the song herself. Born and raised in a rural town near Baltimore, Becket is a refined producer, sharp songwriter and sultry vocalist. With over one hundred unreleased tracks, the twenty-one year old meticulously honed her songwriting, engineering and production skills for years while working in the music industry. Becket learned audio engineering and production in a rap and hip-hop recording studio and quickly honed her talents by taking on major commercial audio projects and working on local tour stops, including for Swae Lee, Grace Potter and Los Lobos. Tess says of the new single: “I wrote ‘Toxic’ about trying to help a close loved one in a mental health crisis. It was a really bad situation where I kept getting pulled into the chaos. The song is a reflection on why I kept going back to help, again and again. I figured, in some way, I must like the toxicity.” Listen below.
Frau Knotz
New Zealand electropop artist Frau Knotz (Lauren Nottingham) has released her sophomore single ‘Runway of Reality’. With an 80s darkwave dance club feel, a super catchy hook, a driving tech house beat with heavily syncopated vocals and a touch of Mulholland Drive. “It’s my hype song,” says Lauren, “the one I blast in the car on a Friday night. I like to call the genre danceable darkwave.” ‘Runway of Reality’ explores the corners of fashion and identity, chronicling the multitude of fads and phases we pass through in our lives. “We as humans are ever-evolving,” says Lauren, “revealing and disguising facets of ourselves through the clothes we wear. I love to play dress-ups. I change the way I look often, and enjoy doing the same with my sound. This tune is theatrical and dramatic with a whole bunch of influences like Kavinsky, Vangelis (Blade Runner soundtrack) and Royksöpp.” Listen below.
Prima Hera
Prima Hera releases second single ‘Michigan’ after gaining acclaim with debut release ‘Sidecar’. ‘Michigan’ is a classic tale of unrequited love, strewn across the highways of middle America. Williamson says “I wanted to capture a sense of deep longing followed by a resignation to the fact that, for all the effort you put into a relationship, the feeling isn’t matched by the one you love. It’s Roy Orbison’s ‘I Drove All Night’ but if the other person wasn’t that bothered either way.” Prima Hera is the solo project of singer-songwriter Stef Williamson. It layers soaring vocal melodies against reverb-drenched piano in a melancholy pop haze. Sshe takes inspiration from artists like AO Gerber, Angel Olsen, Lana del Rey and Kate Bush. Listen to ‘Michigan’ below.
Rosa Bella
Starting 2023 with a bang, Australian singer-songwriter and producer Rosa Bella bursts forth with her epic and heartbreaking ballad ‘Ghost of Your Angel’. Filled with driving melodies, and dynamic instrumentation ranging from the most intense to dangerously delicate, Rosa Bella’s latest single will undoubtedly fill your heart with both love and pain. An exploration of unrequited love, and the inevitable process of letting go that comes with it, ‘Ghost of Your Angel’ is the perfect song to score our lonely lovesick nights. Raised in Rutherglen, amongst the usual trappings of rural Victoria, Rosa Bella was surrounded by amyriad of classic sounds such as ABBA and The Beatles. Influenced heavily by her family, particularly her grandfather, music has been etched into her soul from a young age. As she began to explore her own musical tastes, she latched onto artists such as Taylor Swift, Kate Miller-Heidke and Regina Spektor, as well as delving deep into the world of EDM. With all these forces slowly but surely making their way into her psyche, Rosa Bella has forged her own style – a magnificent culmination of epic yet heartfelt songs, with heavy electronic instrumentation yet classic nostalgic overtones. Teaming with choral harmonies, bracing guitar, epic drums, and gentle strings, ‘Ghost of Your Angel’ is not only an exploration of sound, but an exploration of raw emotion. Rosa Bella has the unique ability to both express extreme confidence as well as absolute vulnerability. Listen below.
Olivia Yells
Olivia Yells is a 23 year old rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Curitiba – PR (Brazil). She has been writing songs since 2013, but only in 2020 she got to release her first song called ‘Good Manners’. The artist usually writes about her personal experiences as a way to get everything off of her chest and that have made people associate her with the “heart” image (that is also represented by her logo). New song ‘Tired’ is about knowing how exhausted you are in a relationship that seems stuck in a rut. ‘Tired’ is taken from her first EP Waiting Room to be release in the first half of 2023. She is influenced by bands and artists like Destroy Boys, Hole, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Queens of the Stone Age, Fiona Apple and PJ Harvey. Her songs are in between Grunge and Punk Rock. In the verses of ‘Tired’ the vocals that accompany the main riff are telling a part of the story almost like a mantra, while the chorus arrives with a strong melodic base and bring the feeling of impatience and internal rage. The song reaches its climax as the instrumental slows down, creating a moment of tension that anticipates the final act. The music returns to its normal tempo, even more loaded with distortions, screams, backing vocals and ends in a cloud of microphonics and the ticking of a clock which mentions not only restlessness but waiting (illustrated also in the name of the EP).The composition fits into phase 4 of an EP that portrays fear, the attempt at understanding, waiting, tiredness and freedom. Listen to ‘Tired’ below.
Teeniest
Teeniest is a duo from Brooklyn, New York (USA). Their music is alive with beauty and colorful quirkiness, whether it’s a gentle acoustic folkie tune or an all-out electric guitar rock assault. ‘Hold on Till Dawn’ is their new single. This indie rock song is high energy and dynamic in its sonic range, with darkness and triumph in equal measure, propelled by electric guitars and rousing vocals. All with a not-overproduced, DIY sensibility/vibe. Listen below.
Check out more of our recent submissions via the playlist below.