Hailing from Australia, Erin Foster’s homegrown bedroom pop is packed with eco friendly glitter, potions and emotions. Writing songs from a young age, the self-taught musician utilises stylistic production to encapsulate the essence of euphoria, glamour and cool girl. Taking influence from pop alumna Ellie Goulding and Lights, Erin manifests a niche blend of heartfelt electronica as a means to dance away your woes.

'Friends' is the third single after 'Birthday' and 'Sometimes' have been released earlier in the year. The new track is about feeling unworthy - ‘I’m punching above my weight, they say you like me, there’s no way’.

Written during a challenging time at university, ‘Friends’ encapsulates feelings of inadequacy and struggling to measure up to your peers - 'my whole life has been lonely, don’t know why you’d want me'. The vulnerable and melancholic lyrics are accompanied by downtempo drums and dreamy soundscapes.

Erin will put out more singles throughout next year 2022. Stay tuned!!

If you ask Dream Eyes about his name, you’ll get some insight about who he is, and what makes him special. Born Tadhg Collins, in the village of Monagea, near Newcastle West, in Limerick, the music he makes now, all began with a difficult accident.

“Yeah, all these songs were after the accident, in 2019,” he explains, speaking of his growing discography, of which ‘Heaven’ is the fourth single in just over a year.”
“I grew up in a small village called Monagea – it was good! Away from the noise of the city. And I played guitar and sang since those days.”

“I was in a motorbike accident, and got hit by a car, in 2019. Yeah, it was quite a big change in my life actually.” “My left arm was paralysed for a year and a half,” he smiles, with his characteristic brightness and calm, “It’s slowly kinda coming back to life again…!”

The life-altering accident caused Collins to move towards electronic sounds, “I wasn’t able to play acoustic guitar for a long time, so I played synths.”

‘Heaven’ is a slice of rich reflection on this theme. “The synths in the verses, I think they’re ethereal, and dreamlike – it’s this idea of the sweetness of staying in your head.” Collins’ low vocal melody rides an airy, smooth production like a steady wave.
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“Then the hook is harder hitting. I wanted to pull away from that dreamlike place.” Here the production ramps up, with Collins’ vocal picking up, and charging with a healthy frustration at living in a daydream.
All this is quite beautiful to take in, when you consider that this song, is the putting into practice of these ideas for Collins – a young artist who decide to take what was beautiful in his dreams, and make them a reality. With his singles going from strength to strength, on ‘Heaven’ benefitting from co-production from collaborator Kieran Lane, recorded in Sun Studios, and with mixing by Kieran Lane, and mastering by Chris Le Dantec of Draftlab Mastering, the future is bright for the thoughts and fantasies of Dream Eyes.

​Irish multi-instrumentalist Abbacaxi has served a long and proper musical apprenticeship. Now
stepping out on his own, he has a fresh and heartfelt sound that brings positive vibrations and good times. It draws on his love of jazz, funk and disco with very modern dynamics.
 
Abbacaxi contemplates the need for simplicity with his new single 'More Than I Need' which glides from funky 70s Disco to classic House.
 
"I wrote this track because I was getting tired of the unpredictability of certain things in my life, which had great value. Over time I started to feel that perhaps less is more. Maybe these things weren't as important as I initially thought, and life could be just as good without them."
 
Hailing inspiration from the wonky feel of old-school disco, Abbacaxi add’s simplistic liquid bass lines with a nod to artists of the 90s like St Germain and Laurent Garnier.
 
Abbacaxi is an intentional misspelling of the Portuguese word for pineapple. With that fruit's sweet and juicy associations, and the extra 'b' a subtle nod to Abba's sing-song disco sounds, you have a big hint at what to expect from Thomas's music. Though his fun, effervescent character is reflected in his music, he is just as able to break your heart with his melancholic chords and neo-soul vocals. Musicians as versatile as Abbacaxi don't come along too often, so strap in and enjoy the ride.

Northern Ireland alt indie-pop artist Lauren Ann, who signed with label Faction Records the same day she left school, has just released her first single with the label 'Lucy'.

Having built a following with songs she released herself while still in school, Lauren Ann began working with producer Declan Legge (Jealous of the Birds, Ciaran Lavery), who helped shape her raw songwriting talent into fully realised productions. By the summer of 2021, music was clearly Lauren Ann’s destiny and she put plans to study law on pause and signed to Dublin label Faction (James Vincent McMorrow, All Tvvins, Sorcha Richardson).

A song about a love triangle among friends, ‘Lucy’ reaches new heights in her songwriting in every aspect - from the wider range and deeper emotion of Lauren Ann’s vocal to the gnarly rush of the guitars and a stripped-back breakdown. Lauren explains... “It’s about being in a relationship and then one of your friends is getting involved. You’re not angry at them but you’re also not happy about it and don’t know what to do. There’s also a bit of envy in there too, because they’re cooler than you and you’re scared that they might take this person that you like.”

It’s a concept that’s indicative of Lauren Ann’s wider lyrical approach. Her own experiences are the launchpad for her imagination to take those stories into bigger directions. It’s also about staying true to who she is. “My songs are centred around heartbreak and anger. I didn’t want to write love songs as it’s not who I am. So I ended up doing break-up songs instead.”

The 18-year-old always had a passion for music, her father’s love of classic rock being the impetus that inspired her love for Pixies, Nirvana, Suede and Muse. And she has been a budding musician ever since she hit her teens, when she traded violin lessons for her first sessions on guitar. Then when COVID hit, her family decided to shield to protect her vulnerable father. “I didn’t have much else to do, so I started writing songs,” she recalls. “I was hiding them from my parents because I didn’t want them to know. But then I wrote ‘Don’t Take It Out On Me’ and I was really proud of it. So I showed it to them, and everything started from there.”

With a fiery mix of grunge dynamics, garage rock exuberance and a hooky pop edge, ‘Don’t Take It Out On Me’ feels like a natural hybrid between grunge’s original wave of killer bands, but with a flavour of contemporary practitioners such as Sir Chloe, The Regrettes and Milk Teeth. It’s an even more remarkable introduction when you consider that Lauren Ann recorded it at home on GarageBand, recording vocals, guitar and bass herself and adding programmed drums.

Her second single ‘How It Works’ proved that her debut was no fluke, something that was underlined with ‘Angel Eyes’. The size of the reaction grew in tandem with her confidence. Seeing her school friends share the QR code for ‘Don’t Take It Out On Me’ was a boost, but things kept scaling up. Her first release of 2021, ‘Angel Eyes’, was chosen as BBC Radio Ulster / ATL Introducing favourite track of the month, while the first seeds of critical acclaim came when the new music bible Nialler9 included her in their list of the best new Irish artists.

Having already earned praise from artists including Sir Chloe and Starcrawler, Lauren Ann’s upwards trajectory continues in the coming months with a set at the Ireland Music Week and the release of her debut EP. Between her limitless potential and people like Olivia Rodrigo reintroducing guitar to the mainstream, Lauren Ann’s talent can take her to the top.

“Back at school, most people didn’t understand or like this music. I remember on non-uniform day, I’d turn up in grunge clothing and loads of dark make-up, and people would be like, ‘What’s she doing?’ But I liked it, so I did it. But it’s becoming a lot more popular. Now I want to play music for a bunch of people and become the best I can be.”