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Tonight's indie & underground foray sees Prince Paolo & Danno going through some of their end-of-the-year favorites that have trickled in whilst they were busy compiling their best of to wrap the year prior.
"The Drop with Danno" on GFN 광주영어방송 98.7FM in Gwangju & 93.7FM in Yeosu, Korea. An eclectic radio curation of all things musical spanning the spectrum every week. Broadcasting 8-10pm KST nightly.
UTR 01.04.2022
PART 1 SONGS
Pom Pom Squad – Popular feat Matthew Caws from Nada Surf
Small Black – Kyoto
Nite Tides – Time
Arjuna Oakes – I Got Mine
Cassandra Jenkins – Hard Drive
BAIRD – Darkness of the Night
PART 1 FACTS
Pom Pom Squad – Popular feat Matthew Caws from Nada Surf
- Lead by singer Mia Berrin, who grew up in Florida, this is one of her favorite tunes growing up (she’s only 24, by the way…so, not even alive when the original dropped in 1996).
- Fast forward to December 15, and her band released this single with the original lead singer in tow, creating a brilliant shot-for-shot remake of the original video to boot.
- Berrin and her band are far from a gimmick, as this goes strength-to-strength with their 2021 album Death of a Cheerleader, which is just perfection.
- She told Rolling Stone that she tweeted that she was gonna play every character on a remake of this song, so she had to finish the joke.
Small Black – Kyoto
- Back in April Small Black played a cover of Phoebe Bridgers' Punisher single "Kyoto" for a SiriusXMU Session. The cover was praised by Bridgers herself, who wrote praises in her own inimitable and unairable manner on social media, and now Small Black have given the cover an official release as of Dec 28.
- Nice tune, interesting to hear a male cover of Phoebe Bridgers.
Nite Tides – Time
- One of our main people in Nashville Ryan Poole is back with this release, just out on New Year’s Day on all streaming platforms.
- Had to give this one a play, and gotta send a shout to a soundcloud listener who wrote that this song kind of sounds like The Beatles meets Queen & ELO. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
- Big up to Ryan & Nite Tides.
Arjuna Oakes – I Got Mine
- This is the latest from our main man down in Wellington NZ, a little standalone single and as usual at least if you’re talking about his two appearances on this radio show, a little bit profane.
- He and partner Serebii, who released the absolutely killer First Nights EP last year are ready to do it again with an EP coming out soon called FINAL DAYS which I got a sneak peak at over the holidays. Very good stuff on the way there, big up to both Arjuna & Serebii.
Cassandra Jenkins – Hard Drive
- Now, this is a tune & an album that I just slept on last year, Prince Paolo…and a very good album as well.
- An Overview On Phenomenal Nature started popping up on some top 50 album lists I follow, and it is definitely a high quality LP. Cassandra Jenkins is a singer-songwriter out of Brooklyn, and this is her 2nd studio album.
BAIRD – Darkness of the Night
- This is an artist that I’ve really been noticing of late, as he’s got this amazing blend of folk & electronic beats going on. He grew up in Baltimore, later moving to Mexico City for post-grad immersion and now resides in LA.
- This song is about a woman leaving her husband, which is inspired in part by John Prine’s style of lyrical storytelling, which BAIRD began writing when Prine passed away last year in April.
PART 2 SONGS
Prince Innocence - Sadie & Maud
Pastel Jungle – Sound Delight
8BIT WIZRD - Blue (Yeah)
Community Swimming Pool - I Don't Know
april june - xmas break
Teenage Priest - Mirror (Acoustic)
PART 2 FACTS
Prince Innocence - Sadie & Maud
- Prince Innocence is a duo from Toronto. The duo is comprised of Talvi Faustmann and Josh McIntyre. Their new track, “Sadie & Maud” is their first new music since their “Blue Star” EP which came out in 2020.
- I would describe this one as a kind of late-night drive sort of tune, with some touches of 80s nostalgia blended in there as well.
- Talvi’s vocals are warm and hazy and I think Josh did a great job with the understated yet very strong production work. Great offering from Prince Innocence.
Pastel Jungle – Sound Delight
- Pastel Jungle is a duo from the UK. The duo consists of Kees Phillips, who handles the vocals, keys, and drums, and Julius Alcantara, who takes care of the guitar and bass.
- “Sound Delight” is their very latest, and it came out on New Year’s Day, so it is safe to say that the duo is off to very good start for 2022.
- Their music is great. They’ve got a sort of dreamy disco flavor to their tracks. Very tasty stuff.
8BIT WIZRD - Blue (Yeah)
- 8BIT WIZRD is the moniker of Reece Myres, an artist based in Austin, Texas. In November, he released a 12-track album called “Mood Killer”. “Blue” is his first track since the release of that album and I think it is pretty cool.
- Musically, it is very 90s. I can’t describe it very well but It just has that kind of 90s indie rock sound if you know what I mean.
- Anyway, the song is called “Blue” but it actually had me feeling kind of happy and hopeful, not blue at all.
Community Swimming Pool - I Don't Know
- Community Swimming Pool is the alias of Bmac Terence, an indie dream-pop artist from Glasglow. He is the brother of Michael Kay Terence, who of course is better known as Swiss Portrait. Bmac is actually the guitarist for Swiss Portrait, which I think is a pretty cool fun fact.
- I had a listen to Community Swimming Pool’s stuff and I like it a lot. It’s definitely worth checking out his catalogue as well as his brother Swiss Portrait, they are some very talented brothers for sure.
april june - xmas break
- April June is an artist that I’ve been keeping an eye on these past few months. Her music is laid-back, kind of sad, but I really do enjoy it.
- April June is the alias of Victoria Zolotukhina and she is from Finland.
- This song is about a relationship that is already on the rocks, in danger of falling apart, and the singer is hopeful that after Christmas break, things will get better.
Teenage Priest - Mirror (Acoustic)
- Teenage Priest is the moniker of Orange Country, California’s, Taylor Van Ginkel. Teenage Priest released a very strong EP about 4 months ago called Rhymes & Rhythms. It’s actually one of my favorite EPs of 2021 so go and check it out if you haven't already.
- “Mirror” was one of the standout tracks on the EP and just last week he released an acoustic version of the tune.
- It’s a smooth, slow burner, and I thought it was a good one to close out the first half of tonight’s playlist.
PART 3 SONGS
Spaceface - Rain Passing Through (feat Mikaela Davis)
Vases - Comfort Creature
Younger Hunger - Light Stream (1:45 “fucked up”)
Team Leader – Volumes
Nathaniel Pozin - Bed Spin
TV Room - Balcony
PART 3 FACTS
Spaceface - Rain Passing Through (feat Mikaela Davis)
- “Rain Passing Through” is the newest single from Memphis and LA –based psych-pop band Spaceface. This single comes ahead of their soon to be released new album. The album will be entitled Anemoia and it will officially drop on the 28th via Mothland.
- I’m really feeling this track. It features the vocals of Mikaela Davis and musically it is a blend of psych-pop, bedroom pop, dance-rock, and a bit of disco flavor in there as well.
Vases - Comfort Creature
- Vases is the alias of LA-based musician and visual artist, Ty Baron. His new track is catchy and light in terms of instrumentation but it’s quite cutting with regards to the lyrics.
- Vases was working as a barback for high-end events in LA and he quickly became jaded and cynical of the people attending these events. He says that they all preached change, progress, and justice but he found it difficult to take them seriously when they lived in such opulence.
- Those thoughts and observations are the inspiration for this song and I think it lyrics are definitely worthy of a closer listen. Great stuff from LA’s, Vases.
Younger Hunger - Light Stream
- Younger Hunger is a trio from LA. They released this track just before the end of 2021. It was their follow up single to their Crying the Pit EP, which was released this past summer.
- The song is about not following people’s expectations of who they think you should be, and instead just going your own way and finding your own direction.
- Band singer, Tony Davia, says that the idea for this song came to him in the shower. He says that he had just finished a song, which took weeks to complete. He finished that song, then hopped in the shower, and then “Light Stream” just popped into his head. He quickly got out of the shower and took some voice memos to make sure the song was captured before he lost it.
Team Leader – Volumes
- Team Leader is a new duo from Manchester. The duo is comprised of Joel Harries and Quincey May Brown.
- Interestingly, the duo says that the song is about “Hiraeth”, I hoped I pronounced that correctly. Anyway, it is a Welsh word with no direct English translation, but it can be likened to homesickness for a place you can no longer return to.
- They released “Volumes” along with another track called “Should Be”. I like “Volumes” just a little bit more at the moment and I’m looking forward to hearing more from this new Manchester duo.
Nathaniel Pozin - Bed Spin
- Nathaniel Pozin is a singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn. He’s got a kind of light indie-folk and rock sound to his music and I’m really feeling his new track.
- Nathaniel says that he wrote this song as he was questioning if he should get back with his ex or not. He says that he was fully aware that the relationship wasn’t really working out but he still felt that there was a possibility that they could still be together somehow.
TV Room - Balcony
- TV Room is the moniker of London-based multi-instrumentalist Lucy Rushton. She is the drummer for the post-punk band Deep Tan and TV Room is her new solo project. “Balcony” is her debut single as TV Room and it comes to us via Sad Club Records.
- This track is a personal one for her. She says that it is a sort of intimate letter to someone that she couldn’t speak to at the time. She says that she couldn’t say these things to the person directly so it was just easier to say what was on her mind in a song.
PART 4 SONGS
Foxy Panic - Anecdote
Azure Blue - Define Your Dreams
Outlaw Boogie - Eyes Wired Shut
Stores - mud season
The Ballroom Thieves – Borderline
Kacimi - Il Fait Si Chaud Ce Soir
PART 4 FACTS
Foxy Panic – Anecdote
- Foxy Panic is a duo comprised of China Morbosa and Lena Brown and they are based in LA.
- About the song, they say that the tune was created to be “A theme song for when you find yourself overwhelmed with the state of the world and just want to be forcefully uplifted to a state of bliss”.
- I think the song is really cool. The duo describes their sound as “punktronic”, a term that is new to me but one that fits their sound perfectly.
Azure Blue - Define Your Dreams
- Azure Blue is the solo project of Tobias Isaksson, an artist who hails from Stockholm. He’s kind of a veteran in the game, having celebrated his 10-year anniversary in 2021. In that time, he’s released 5 albums, various collabs and has amassed millions of Spotify streams.
- “Define Your Dreams” is his latest, It dropped a couple of weeks back but I thought it was a great tune to include in our first show of the year.
- Musically, the track is very 80s inspired and in terms of content, I think it definitely has that “New Year’s Resolution” kind of vibe to it.
- I’m a little afraid to ask Danno, but do you have any resolutions for 2022?
Outlaw Boogie - Eyes Wired Shut
- Outlaw Boogie is the moniker of London-based singer-songwriter Michael James Dent. “Eyes Wired Shut” is his latest single and it is taken from his forthcoming new EP, which is due sometime this year.
- He says that the song is semi-autobiographical, and it is mainly about him trying not be so cynical. I think the track has a playfulness to it that I really like, nice jangly guitars and vocal harmonies, just a solid tune overall.
Stores - mud season
- Stores is a duo comprised of Hannah Brown and Sam Warren. They were already fixtures of Liverpool underground scene and after finding themselves on the same bill back in 2017, they became friends and then started making music together.
- Just a couple of weeks back, they released a very cool self-titled EP via Eggy Records. The EP is 4-tracks and I think it is a really strong offering, definitely go and check it out. I like all the songs but “Mud Season” seems to be the track getting the most traction so far but I could’ve easily picked any song on the EP. Very good stuff from Stores.
The Ballroom Thieves – Borderline
- The Ballroom Thieves is an indie-folk duo from New England. This song is kind of a slow builder, but that’s what I like about it. If I had to describe it in one word, I would say that the track is charming, like you Danno.
- The duo says that the song is about anxiety and how it is actually an important part of our lives. They say that sometimes they feel like they are sitting on a rain cloud and just watching their bodies go through the motions of daily life.
- Sadly, I can relate to this image a lot, but at least the music is upbeat and happy.
Kacimi - Il Fait Si Chaud Ce Soir
- I found this song over the holiday break and couldn’t stop playing it. Kacimi has two more singles ready for release, he says that they will be out shortly and I can’t wait.
- He’s also got some EPs on the way this year, and all those singles and EPs will lead to his new album. Looks like he’s got 2022 already mapped out.
- All the music will of course come courtesy of the label that he founded and currently manages, Le Pop Club Records, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland.