Looking for new music and artists for updating your playlists? In need of a new soundtrack while working from home?
These 5 rising artists just might give you your newest favorite playlist!
Zachary Knowles
Photo by Stefan Kohli
Zachary Knowles has spent his entire life leading up to this moment. Hailing from Magnolia, Texas, Knowles was bit by the musical bug at an early age, when his parents gifted him a light-up keyboard in first grade.
“I started teaching myself songs on there, but I always kept it to myself,” he explains. It didn’t take long for Knowles to run with his newfound talents; Eventually, Knowles transitioned into writing his own material, and he was pleasantly surprised at the online reaction to his own work as it racked up tens of thousands of streams on SoundCloud almost immediately: “I fell in love with making music. I’d come
home from school and write as much stuff as I could.”
Most recently, he released his Magnolia EP, a collection of songs that take direct inspiration from his small-town upbringing, young love, and the lessons
that come with growing up. Knowles’ music has a strong ethos – To forge deeper connections with those around him by reaching deep inside to expose the commonalities that bond everyone in this universe.
“I just wanna reach people,” he explains. “My whole dream at the start of this was to build relationships, whether it’s with one person or a hundred people. Personal connections to others are so important. Music is a really cool way to express yourself in a real way and talk about real-life things, rather than what others want to hear.”
It’s an admirable aim, and you’ll definitely want to hear what Knowles has coming next.
Follow him on social media: @zacharyknowlesmusic
(RELATED: Filipino-American Singer H.E.R. Wants to Do a Music Collab With Ben&Ben)
Anson Seabra
Photo by Kelby Reck
Kansas-City based singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Anson Seabra has shared his vulnerable new single “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring.”
“The song is really about those times when you feel like a mess and you feel like you need someone there to help you. Not only that, but the times when that someone cannot be there so you have to face yourself alone,” Anson reflects, “This can be a really scary thing and I think it’s something that a lot of people are going through today.”
After independently amassing nearly half-a-billion cumulative streams and views, Anson shows no signs of stopping anytime soon as he continues writing, recording, and producing everything at a prolific pace for the release of his upcoming 2021 EP.
Follow him on social media: @ansonseabra
Shaed
Photo by Jared Zagha
Multi-Platinum D.C. trio SHAED has released their debut album High Dive via Photo Finish Records. The debut album drops with new single and special version of the title-track “High Dive Feat. Lewis Del Mar” and follows the band’s milestone of surpassing 2 BILLION streams across platforms.
High Dive was produced by SHAED with additional production from GRAMMY Award-winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid (HAIM, Vampire Weekend, Charli XCX) and producer Josh Fountain (BENEE) on several tracks.
The album features strings by the FAME’s Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra, directed over Zoom by the band and composer Jherek Bischoff (Angel Olsen, Brian
Eno), guest appearances from ZAYN, Lewis Del Mar and Two Feet, and mastering by GRAMMY Award-winner Emily Lazar (Sia, David Bowie, Sleigh Bells).
SHAED’s debut album High Dive and new single “High Dive Feat.
Lewis Del Mar” are out now and available to stream.
Follow them on social media: @shaedband
St. Vincent
Photo by Zackery Michael
The grit of 1970s vinyl meets the grain of 1970s celluloid with “Down,” the infectious third advance offering from Daddy’s Home, the new St. Vincent album dropping May 14 by Loma Vista Recordings.
Co-directed by St. Vincent (a/k/a Annie Clark) and Bill Benz, the “Down” clip features its lead in full Candy Darling morning-after regalia, portraying a woman — under the influence? — careening through a narrative that meshes perfectly with the song’s urgent, anxious grooves.
“… it seems Clark has entered her ‘Prince around the time he turned himself into an unpronounceable symbol, and Bowie in his Young Americans phase,’ delivering slinky dancefloor grooves to match her angular lyrical provocations.”—AV CLUB
“In an industry crowded with artists who claim singularity, there is perhaps no musician more deserving of the label than St. Vincent… A decidedly retro turn for the forward-looking artist, it is an homage to her father’s vinyl collection, a sonic swirl of Steely Dan, Nina Simone, and Lou Reed.
”—INTERVIEW
Follow her on social media: @St.Vincent
joan
Photo by Connor North Goad
Beloved Arkansas duo joan return with their infectious new single ‘so good’. The first new music from a new chapter for the band, ‘the wave era’ will come in the form of two new EPs dropping this year via Photo Finish Records.
About ‘so good’, Steven and Alan explain that the song is “about feeling like you’re meant to be with someone who just walked in the room. it’s about being around someone that just makes your life feel good. It’s about wishing that person was there your whole life because you didn’t realize how good it could be. Here’s hoping you have that someone or hoping you find them soon”.
joan (Alan Benjamin Thomas and Steven Rutherford) have spent the past few years building their musical empire, single by single, tour date by tour date, with the past two years being landmarks for them; their debut EP, 2019’s portra, and last year’s EP cloudy have been streamed well over 90 million times, with over a million listeners a month across streaming platforms.
Follow them on social media: @songsbyjoan
Enjoy discovering these new artists and their newly released music!
Anything to add to this story? Share your thoughts with us.
Do you have a story for the WhenInManila.com Team? Email us at story.wheninmanila@gmail.com or send us a direct message at WhenInManila.com Facebook Page. Join our Viber group to be updated with the latest news!
