Today, a tonne of new releases have been dropped with plenty of them coming from my favourite artists that I really was spoiled for choice on which music video to review for my New Release blog. I went with Becky Hill's new single "Space" because I've supported her since day one (when she appeared on The Voice UK) and she just keeps on releasing anthems after anthems! She's such an incredible singer and I felt extremely lucky that I managed to see her live at the start of 2019, for my birthday, and I hope I get the chance to see her perform on stage again - I'm sure I will. "Space" is an epic song that really showcases Becky Hill's incredible vocals. The lyrics paint a story of a broken relationship where outside troubles are infecting the love they have for one another and tainting it, to the extent where space apart may just be what they need. This hit me right in the heart, especially after going through my break-up a couple of months ago. This is the second time that Becky Hill has dropped a song that speaks to me at my very core at that very moment. She's a powerhouse of a vocalist and "Space" allows her to prove that to the world. This is one incredible and fierce track, that needs to become a chart hit to allow Becky Hill to get the recognition she deserves.
What can I say about this music video? Well, it's probably one of the best music videos I have seen all year! Relating brilliantly with the song, Becky Hill shines throughout with her love-interest acting brilliantly too. The narrative side of the visual is conceptually simple but that is all that is needed because everything else is what makes it superb. I love the editing techniques throughout, from the crazy stairs to the stretching table, all of which adds to the space idea. Then there are the performance visuals which Becky Hill knocks out of the park. Her voice is on-point throughout, she looks absolutely stunning in that flame-orange dress; and, when her hair is up, it really exposes her beautiful face, whilst when she has her hair down we can just feel the power within the visual as she holds her notes. I am blown away with this incredible music video, and it's surely one I'm going to watch again and again.
Released today through Global Records - which is one of my favourite record labels at the moment as they have some amazing artists signed and consistently release awesome music - Gino Manzotti & MAXX are here with an addicting tune, titled "Matado". The song got me hooked the second I heard it and seeing that a music video was also released to accompany the track, I knew I was just going to have to review it today. Gino Manzotti & MAXX have had massive hits in the past under the group DJ Project which included the vocalist Elena Baltagan, where they've worked with the likes of Elena, AMI, Deepside Deejays, and Mira. Now releasing under their own names as a duo, I'm excited to see where this new project takes them. "Matado" is an awesome song that follows up their previous single "Arabian Story". It's got a lot of Eastern European and Asian beats and melodies mixed in with the high dance energy with hints of progressive house. The uncredited vocalist has an incredible voice that really lays out the lyrics of the song.
As for the accompanying music video, directed by Alex Ceausu, I am kind of unimpressed. There's a big dance number that has great choreography, and it's clear that social distancing was important to them so it's great to see that they did this during the pandemic, but the narrative doesn't really go anywhere apart from a briefcase being handed over. There are extra performance shots of pole dancing and of Gino Manzotti & MAXX, but these scenes do not bring the audience back into the visual. This is such a brilliant song and I can see it going viral, but the video doesn't live up to the song itself.
New Dami Im music has been released today and I am beyond happy and I totally feel encouraged with this uplifting empowerment song, "Paper Dragon". Dami Im is one absolutely incredible singer and once again she blows me away with her amazing voice! I'm glad to see her return to a more upbeat track, continuing to show her versatility as an artist, and this song is really quite a number. Addicting from the get-go, "Paper Dragon" is about not letting anyone push you down and continuing to fight to get to where you want to be. This is highly relatable to a lot of people, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic, as a lot of people have lost their jobs (me included) and other things that have happened to people has made them feel like they're not good enough (I went through a break-up and there are still some days where I just feel lost and I'm not where I want to be in my life, career, or anything else, but I'm a fighter too and I'll never stop trying). This is one incredible song, that deserves to become a hit!
Accompanying the track is a paper origami-inspired music video that has been directed by Stefano Bertelli at Seen Film Studio with Riccardo Orlandi acting as assistant director. We follow a paper caterpillar that starts life on the leaf of a flower. It soon evolves into a butterfly who goes on a journey through the desert, flying past an awesome snake and landing near a cactus. With no water, it slowly starts to die, but lightning strikes the cactus - which is storing water - and the butterfly gets a drink. I then magically evolves again, this time into a dragon, who flies across the desert powerfully. Throughout there are performance scenes of Dami Im singing the song, wearing a stunning red jumpsuit and looking gorgeous in every scene. She's displayed like a paper sticker, jumping into this awesome paper-like world. At one point the jumpsuit turns to white as she nears the end of this incredible song. With conviction, Dami Im puts her heart into this song and music video, showing how much these words mean to her. I hope that I get to see her perform live on stage one day, as I need to hear this awesome voice live!
INNA just keeps on releasing banger after banger and this one is no different, in collaboration with Farina, titled "Read My Lips". I feel like I've heard this song before like it's a part of INNA's unreleased songs - just like "We Wanna" used to be, the collaboration with Alexandra Stan which also featured Daddy Yankee. As much as I love INNA's songs and as much as I feel like she could sing anything and I would still love it because of her gorgeous voice, I feel that this is disjointed, and I think it's due to it being a collaboration with Farina; I don't think it was the best song for them to collaborate on as Farina's reggaeton style doesn't match the rhythm of the song and INNA's superb dance vocals, but "Read My Lips" still works as a song overall, I am eager to hear remixes of the song to see what the DJs and producers would do to the track.
As for the music video, I am getting Mad Max vibes throughout. Filmed by two different groups (NGM Creative for INNA and NJ Entertainment for Farina) due to the artists being in different countries, this music video is incredible. The visual opens with a goddess-like theme with INNA looking amazing in a black dress where she's sitting on a chair/throne. In contrast, a second scene is shown where INNA is wearing a red dress with a red line splitting her chin and neck in half, vertically. Farina matches with a black outfit that is a lot more provocative, and a separate scene sees her in a goddess-like cream-coloured rope outfit, as the tone of the song changes to match her rap. The middle-performance scene sees INNA in a skin-and-beige-coloured outfit continuing the goddess themes whilst Mad Max-style visuals intercut - almost as if the song is a film soundtrack. With the final scene showing INNA wearing a bright fluffy yellow coat. It's such a high production music video, how is this not a part of a film soundtrack? The dancers are bringing some brilliant choreography, it's just a shame they don't get a full scene. The music video is good, it's just missing a few things that could've elevated it to be better.
He's back! Bryson Tiller is gearing up to release a brand new album in the coming months, titled Serenity, and it will be his third studio album. Doing what he does best, Bryson Tiller has dropped a unique track that really allows him to shine in every way, "Inhale" is one special song and it has already made an impact with this music video trending on YouTube, which is how I came across it.
Directed by Ro.lexx, the video captures the essence of a relationship in just a few scenes, from the text to the bedroom scene to the looks they give each other when they're sitting outside. It's such a mood as a whole, totally grabbing the attention of the viewers and fully giving them a fly-on-the-wall-experience. As a whole, there's not a whole lot going on, but their ability to convey all in just those few scenes gives us all we need to know. A clever and interesting concept that totally works with the song.
Well, this was a nice surprise to come across for this week's new release music video review. "Midnight Love" by Jindi featuring Smylie is an infectious reggae track that I really haven't been able to get out of my head since the minute I heard it. Jindi truly managed to blow me away with his awesome vocal on this track, whereas Smylie brings the dancehall flavour that adds the extra spice that is needed. This collaboration is something different, fresh, and exciting, giving us a tune we will definitely listen to many times over.
The accompanying music video is really visionary, with a chilled-out opening scene which sees Jindi in Dubai calling Smylie in Harare, Zimbabwe, where the latter invites the former to come and visit. The viewers watch on as Jindi visits Zimbabwe and showcases the beautiful locations and the people that they meet. Some of the scenes are breath-taking, and both artists nail the performance side of things giving us perfect energy that just adds to the song, overall.
