motel void

Venus as a boy – When were you so low

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Venus as a boy (aka Theo Lee) is a songwriter/producer who’s spent the last 2 years collaborating with producers and artists in LA, such as Adrian Cota, Cody Simpson, Nick Lee, Rowlan, and many more.

When You Were So Low has a nice slowcore/emo vibe and starts like a smooth, standard indie tune, but then after half a minute the production drastically changes (in a good way!) and Lee delves more into sonic experimentation. I was also surprised by these almost trap beats (that don’t feel out of place at all, on the contrary). To sum it up, I like when artists are brave and Venus as a boy really has something to build on, as evidenced by the unconventional outro as well. In some ways he reminds me of my favorite glitch pop musician brakence. Big talent!

small town sci-fi – Kentucky Summer (Down)

We already recommended small town sci-fi on this blog in the past, the reason is simple: he’s been a favorite DIY artist of mine for at least a year. At first I thought small town sci-fi is a band but actually it’s just one person whose real name is Jonathan Suarez. Originally from Salinas, CA, currently in Portland. That’s the basic info.

Kentucky Summer (Down) is the first track from his latest album Make it Over which was released at the end of last year. The song starts out as a gentle lo-fi indie folk tune, after a minute the song switches to a more energetic position, though. Honestly, it can throw the listener off a bit, but after a few listens, I actually started to enjoy this unexpected, sudden change and even think that it’s a great idea to combine these different vibes and moods.

half of a rainbow – charlotte in tokyo

Another treasure from Berlin singer songwriter half of a rainbow. His work continues to amaze me with its melodic approach, beckoning production and nostalgic atmosphere. His new track charlotte in tokyo commemorates the cult film Lost in Translation. Charlotte is more straightforward than half of a rainbow’s previous compositions – the song mostly revolves around its catchy chorus. It also helps that the length does not exceed two minutes – that’s why the song doesn’t feel repetitious and has the potential to be played on repeat (I played it about five times in a row haha).

Quinn Devlin – Lillian

Quinn Devlin is a relatively successful indie singer-songwriter: several of his songs on Spotify have more than 100,000 listens, California Wine even hits 3 million streams. He’s originally from Pennsylvania, now a longtime resident of Brooklyn, NY.

Lilian is a nostalgic composition, the melodies and the overall atmosphere remind me a lot of my favorite Canadian singer-songwriter who calls himself Valley Maker. Devlin doesn’t have such a sgnificant vocal, though (which might be a small advantage because some might find Valley Maker’s vocal a bit obnoxosious and Devlin’s type of voice is just pretty:)

The song abounds in sadness, but listening to it rather evokes positive emotions. The female backing vocals are great as well and the warm production reminds me acts like Hovvdy.