Get to know some of the most exciting new bands from Italy at the third edition of La Festa. The showcase takes place on 21st of September at Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival and features the bands Her Skin, Qlowski, and KOKO. Ahead of their show, each band shared ten songs from their home country with us. The La Festa playlist gives a little taste of the past, present, and future of Italy's versatile music scene.
After a short summer hiatus here are some records from the previous months that are worth checking out. Every end of the month we are releasing a round up of reviews of recent releases that touched us the most. These are the personal reviews of hand-curated gems our team dug up (and the occasional chart topper). This time including Beyoncé, Xênia França, Interpol, Maggie Rogers, Hot Chip, Julia Jacklin, Kolinga, Working Men's Club, and Ben Shemie.
The Berlin-based singer and songwriter Minoa, aka Ina Klos, just delivered her debut record "Forward, Backward, Start Again" with the confidence of an artist who is records deep into their career. We got to know the singer, her approaches to songwriting, and updated our Introducing Playlist with some of her gems.
The Australian singer and songwriter Stella Donnelly follows her acclaimed debut record "Beware of the Dogs" with "Flood". Grown out of the confinement and the new habits the artist picked up during the pandemic, the album is as political as it is personal and as serious as it is fun. Stella sat down to talk to us about new hobbies and perspectives.
From an upbeat surf-folk troubadour, Jules Ahoi has long evolved into a buzzing art-pop act with a sense for sweeping and remarkable songs for the here and now. NBHAP co-head Andreas finally took the opportunity for a chat with the songwriter and got a pretty good sense of what his latest LP is all about.
Hatis Noit is not a singer in the traditional sense of the word. She is an experimental voice artist merging various influences from different vocal traditions to a record full of surprises and emotions. "Aura" finds its music in the embodiment of emotions through vocals as sounds and not as words. We met the artist to speak about language, tradition, and her approach to music making.
"It was a CD I think, the first time I seen the cover. A dark, burnt orange background with a shirtless Al in the middle, half smiling staring straight through the barrel of the camera. Al Green’s Greatest Hits." Self-taught musician and singer Joesef sat down to muse on one of his favorite records. Following the release of his latest single "East End Coast" his love for Al Green explains the soulful touches on the single dedicated to the sense of belonging he experiences in his hometown Glasgow.
Light and dark dance on the sweeping, experimentally orchestral debut solo album from the Culk frontwoman Sophie Löw. "Die Neue Heiterkeit" explores themes of anxiety and oppression, but also finds remedy in community and hope. We spoke to the artist to peek behind the curtain of the soundscape and themes that Sophia Blenda explores.
