- Words Notion Staff
- Photography Matt Joy for Notion
Undiscovered is a weekly playlist sharing our pick of the best new music from the world's most exciting emerging musicians. You heard it here first.
"Nobody wants me" by Hēir & Fudasca
Hēir unpacks social media selves on her bubblegum new single, explaining that: “Everybody wants the happy life you showcase and that perfect version of ourselves we all portray. It’s when real life hits that sometimes people don’t stay. Everyone’s there for the party and nobody’s there for the clean up.” Produced by up-and-coming artist Fudasca, it would fit right in with a Y2K movie soundtrack.
"Hello World" by Downtown Kayoto
Zimbabwe-born, Hull-based genre blending artist Downtown Kayoto has dropped his latest single "Hello World". He explained: "It’s a phrase typed into a new computer program to initiate, before more code is written. It symbolises me placing my flag down into the ground and marking a new starting point both from an artistic and a visual standpoint," says Downtown Kayoto. "I like to say that I'm a combination of the industrious Zimbabwean attitude coupled with Northern grit and determination."
"Real Thing" by Bleach Lab
Bleach Lab have shared another hauntingly beautiful single in the shape of "Real Thing", along with a debut UK headline tour announcement. Vocalist Jenna Kyle explained: “Real thing is about wanting to find a more meaningful and lasting connection with someone. I had been processing a lot of issues over the last couple of years to do with previous relationships and personal development, and I had finally reached a place where I felt I was in the right state of mind to be open to looking for something new. “It is a lot about finding a healthy relationship that is beneficial for those involved. Knocking down the walls you built and putting trust in someone else, for the first time in a long time.”
"happy now" by girlhouse
girlhouse slam-dunks with this electric guitar-led single. Speaking about the new song, she said, “Happy now started as an angry poem towards someone in my life that was really emotionally challenging to me, but as we started producing it and I started looking at the lyrics from a different perspective, I realised I was projecting everything I hated about myself towards this other person."
"clothespins" by quami.xyz
Tackling race, identity, isolation and political corruption on his new track, quami.xyz explained: "When I was making this track, I thought about how we can easily convince ourselves that we are helpless in a situation. In this case, as a Black man, I often feel weak, or maybe it's more of a numb feeling as I have become more used to the trauma and the social aggression that is imposed on the way I look—the history behind that dynamic and how it applies today."
"chuu" by anaiis & Topaz Jones
Singer-songwriter anaiis links with New Jersey artist Topaz Jones for the enigmatic new duet "chuu". anaiis shared that the song "allowed me to fantasise about a future where the situation I had been in would no longer be consuming me, where I would be completely free of any ties and memories of that time, and I could afford myself a moment of carelessness.”
"Talk Big" by Michi
Latina artist Michi drops “Talk Big”, a reality check for egotistical people unaware of their unbearable energy. Serving us late-night, funky R&B vibes, this is a sultry bop if we ever heard one.
"Right This Time" by 303
R&B trio 303 drop the Ray J-sampled single "Right This Time". Fitting seamlessly with their 90s style, the sugar-coated single will surely be spinning on repeat all weekend. “We are super excited to be granted permission to put our vocals on this Ray J classic. What brings us together as a group is our love for music from this era, and we are so happy to continue to bring the fans our sound combined with the music that inspires us" the band said.
"barcardi" by chuala
International, multi-faceted artist, chuala, shares her new EP 'me and chu', on which she critiques capitalist structures. Written and produced by chuala herself during the third lockdown in spring, she dived into her own music making process by eliciting sound based on various aspects of her experience.
"Forever Yours" by noelle
Canadian artist noelle stuns with her silky vocals and slinky production on this new jazzy new pop single.
"The Times" by DELPHii
DELPHii reflects on the exhausting pace of modern life on falsetto-laced new single "The Times". Taken from her debut EP, 'Lilac', also out today, she explained: "This song is something of a quiet moment; people don't have many of those anymore. Life is so fast. The media permeates our lives until we are soaked in a global newsfeed of subliminal contradictions like work tirelessly, succeed, get rich, it’s easy, but money isn’t everything, relax, don’t let life pass you by."