I recently had the privilege of meeting Dan and Jim from KAWALA, backstage before their show at Komedia in Brighton.
Having just released their latest single, ‘Heavy In The Morning‘, we spoke all about how they feel before releasing new music, some of their most embarrassing moments and just how much they love a certain pop/R&B singer.
Possibly one of the best bits was talking about (and witnessing!!!) Dan’s weird habit though…so much so, that it deserved to be edited into its own video (below). It’s all here…
Brighton Pride is fast approaching and to celebrate, we have created our first ever, Brighton Pride Weekenderplaylist dedicated to one of the city’s biggest annual events to promote equality and diversity with the aim to eliminate discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
This playlist has been lovingly crafted to include a variety of tracks, by the artists performing at Brighton Pride 2018, as well as some other great anthems!
If you already own the songs and want the custom artwork, please feel free to copy/download it below:
Jason Derulo is one of those artists who is instantly recognisable! Often just from the start of a tune, you can tell it’s by him, and then again when his voice kicks in.
This isn’t the first time Derulo has teamed up with Coca-Cola (remember 2012’s ‘Undefeated’?). Now he’s back with Coca-Cola’s anthem for the FIFA World Cup 2018.
‘Colors’ is certainly a world anthem, promoting pride and patriotism for your county but at the same time, celebrating everyone else’s, not seeing rivalry.
This is a positive, uplifting track that is sure to get people going and excited for the tournament ahead. Also, the video is pretty fun too!
Janelle Monáe has just released her third album, Dirty Computer, and ‘Pynk’ is one of my favourite singles from the record.It’s a collaboration with Canadian art pop artist, Grimes and is a song all about female empowerment, self-love…and there are certainly strong references to female genitalia! This can be seen from the music video too (see below).
The track actually interpolates parts of Aerosmith‘s ‘Pink’, and as such, are credited as writers of the song.
This is a strong song to kickstart your Tuesday, so turn it up loud and enjoy!
This song is just incredible and was the first song I heard by Imogen Heap…and now, I’m obsessed with her sound!
‘Hide and Seek’ is such a unique song; it is solely performed with Heap’s vocals which are transformed though a vocoder hooked up to a keyboard synth. This has created the incredible a cappella sound that made the song so iconic.
Since its release 11 years ago (this week), in 2005, the song has been featured in many television programmes and films, including popular teen drama, The O.C. It was also prominently sampled by Jason Derulo, in his 2009 single, ‘Whatcha Say’.
It’s so passionate and heartfelt and I love how it doesn’t conform to the usual pop song structure. It is the perfect way to start the week. Enjoy 🙂
Have you heard this before? Did you love it when it was released? Are you still a fan today? Do you have any similar #MellowMonday songs you can share with us. Please communicate with us via our social media accounts.
Jason Derulo released his latest single, ‘If It Ain’t Love’ on 1st April 2016 and it looks set to be the second single from his upcoming, as-yet-untitled, fifth studio album.
Apart from the single artwork (featuring Derulo in a violet-coloured suit and fedora hat), not much else has been released. The official video is still to be unveiled, but as usual we’ll keep you updated on this.
The song is another dance-pop banger from the American artist and has definitely got the catchy-factor going on!
Fifth Harmony – ‘Work From Home’ featuring Ty Dolla $ign
‘Work’ is the first single to be taken from US quintet, Fifth Harmony‘s upcoming second album, 7/27.
Originally called ‘Work’ but re-titled to avoid confusion with Rihanna’s ‘Work‘, the song features American rapper, Ty Dolla $ign and has an incredibly catchy hook that’ll suck even the toughest of critics in! The combination of Pop and R&B is brilliantly executed and it’s beautiful in its simplicity.
The track has seen great success on our shores and reached Number 2 in the UK charts.
What do you think of our amazing, current, pop tracks for you this week?! Please share this post on your social media accounts or why not suggest us two songs to listen to?!
Muzik Speaks is 1 year old this week and to celebrate this milestone, we’re giving you a themed playlist, for each day this week. The playlist will contain all of the songs we’ve featured on our blog during the past year, all themed around the corresponding day.
Today, it’s #Two4Tunesday and our playlist includes:
Yesterday we presented you with our favourite albums of 2015, and today we bring you our favourite songs of 2015. The year has been crammed with some sensational songs and these are the ones we think made the biggest impact this year…but do you agree with our choices? What other songs would you have included?
Justin Bieber – What Do You Mean?
Years & Years – King
Jack Ü (Diplo & Skrillex) – Where Are Ü Now featuring Justin Bieber
Adele – Hello
Omi – Cheerleader
Sia – Alive
Wiz Khalifa – See You Again featuring Charlie Puth
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Downtown featuring Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz
One Direction – Drag Me Down
Jess Glynne – Hold My Hand
Little Mix – Black Magic
Drake – Hotline Bling
Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
Jason Derulo – Want To Want Me
Nick Jonas – Levels
Sigala – Easy Love
Tove Lo – Talking Body
Fleur East – Sax
Kelly Clarkson – Heartbeat Song
Life Of Dillon – Overload
The Songs
I hope you’ve enjoyed these songs as much as I have this year and if you’d have chosen some different tracks, please let me know what you’d have chosen 🙂
Without a doubt, this song is the definition of feel-good! You may remember our Disney week earlier in the year and ‘Friend Like Me‘ was one of my chosen songs for that week!
Well, good news Disney-lovers, Disney are are getting set to release the mother of all cover albums on 30th October 2015, ‘We Love Disney’. The album is set to feature covers by a range of artists including Jessie J, Jason Derulo, Gwen Stefani, Fall Out Boy and of course Ne-Yo, all covering a range of well-loved Disney songs.
This is the first song to be released from the upcoming compilation and it’s hard-hitting, jazzy and downright fun! I can’t wait to hear the rest of it!
What do you think of this song? Are you a fan? Are you excited to hear the rest of the album? What’s your #FeelGoodFriday song of the week? Please leave a comment below or Tweet/Facebook us with your song choice.
This weekend, we present you with our first ever #SummerSongs playlist for 2015! This playlist has been lovingly crafted by the current Muzik Speaks writers, each contributing some summery songs we love!
If you already own the songs and want the custom artwork, please feel free to copy/download the artwork below:
Matt’s Song Selections
There are so many songs on this playlist that I just love! They’re either current songs which right now are giving me that summer feeling, or are a few years old but hold memories for me.
Some of the songs I’ve chosen include;
Jason Derulo – ‘Try Me’ featuring Jennifer Lopez and Matoma – this song’s got a distinct dancehall sound and captured me instantly. The song is on Derulo’s new album, Everything Is 4 and although it’s an album track, it’s the perfect opening track for our summer playlist!
Sam Smith – ‘Lay Me Down (Tiësto Remix)’ – this remix is incredible! I’m a big fan of remixes anyway, but Tiësto’s euphoric, spacious sound on this track, has transformed an already beautiful song, into a electronica dream!
Walk The Moon – ‘Avalanche’ – an album track from their latest release, Talking Is Hard, this song’s guitar sounds make it an upbeat, melodic song. It reminds me of something out of a sunny scene in Made In Chelsea or on the beach.
One Direction – ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ – OK, so I feel I should justify this selection! One Direction, no matter what you think of them, have written some damn good songs; this being one of them! This song has a clear 80s quality to it, it sort of reminds me (not sure why!) of Climie Fisher‘s ‘Love Changes’.
Tyler James – ‘Why Do I Do?’ – I used to love this song when it was released back in 2004 and the jazz-pop qualities of this song are unique and captivating. It’s damn catchy too!
Fall Out Boy – ‘Favorite Record’ – I love Fall Out Boy and they have gone from strength to strength over the years. I love the production on this track and its use of certain effects on the vocals and guitars make it intriguing to listen to. It’s lyrics are also fairly reminiscent and that for me is a quality of summer; making memories to reminisce in years to come.
Michael Jackson – ‘Love Never Felt So Good‘ featuring Justin Timberlake – this song has previously been a #FeelGoodFriday track of mine and it’s not hard to tell why! It’s a perfectly sculpted pop song with the uplifting sounds of Michael Jackson’s vocals, married with modern Timbaland production and support of Justin Timberlake’s voice.
Razorlight – ‘Rip It Up’ – released back in 2004, this has many memories of countless parties I went to whilst at my secondary school and just makes me think of times I spent with friends. It’s energetic tempo makes for a hard-hitting belter.
Vance Joy – ‘Riptide’ – this song is a personal favourite of mine; I was once shown this track by someone I admire for overcoming their fear of performing and its California surfing sound is the perfect calming close to our playlist.
My other selections include songs by; Ariana Grande, Two Door Cinema Club, Train, DJ Fresh featuring Rita Ora, Sigma, Frankmusik, Clean Banditand Shift K3Y.
That’s it from me! I hope you like the songs I’ve contributed to the playlist and that they might help shape some memories for you too. Please share this playlist with your friends. Matt x
Max’s Song Selections
I’m really excited to share this playlist with you guys, it’s packed full of great tunes listen to this summer. Our selection is quite varied in styles and genres as we hope to capture all the highs and lows of your summer through the playlist.
The song I added to this playlist are:
Dan Croll – ‘From Nowhere’ – this song is just far too cheery to not have in your summer playlist! The upbeat riffs and instruments make this song a good listen.
Only Real – ‘When This Begins’ – to be honest I’m in love with this whole album. But this tune fits best with our Summer vibes, it’s probably one you’ll put on, sit back and relax to. If you like ‘Only Real’ be sure to check his feature in my #WildCardWednesday post.
Toddla T – ‘Take It Back’ – although this song isn’t too recent, I think some clean Drum n Bass is essential for a good playlist. ‘Take It Back’ has some beautiful vocals over this great backing track.
La Roux – ‘Uptight Downtown’ – This song grabbed me by it’s instrumentals, it’s on the verge of a pretty interesting ‘funk’ track. Also I personally love La Roux’s voice regardless, it’s so clean and natural sounding. Her songs should defiantly feature in your summer this year!
SBTRKT – ‘IMO’ – this song is a little different to the others. It’s a very mellow tune, with an overall softness to the instrumental. It’s a beautiful song nonetheless, some really nice production went into this!
These are all of the songs I’ve decided to choose for the summer; enjoy!
We’ve gathered only the best songs which are sure to make your summer special. We want this summer to be one you’ll remember for the best reasons! Check out the full playlist on Spotify. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Muzik Speaks 