This is the first In Dee Mail feature we’ve run in a while. (We’ve been busy building new pages that will be unveiled as time ensues; one just published is IRC’s Music Festivals 2021 all-in-one resource. Fests are back! And don’t miss our new songs aggregated page.)
In this installment:
- Bliss Williams – London, England
- Monrad – Medesano, Italy
- Hazey – Bristol, England
- Venray – Washington, D.C.
- Fletcher Milloy – Los Angeles, California
We’ve received many hundreds of submissions in the past few weeks – catching up from a slow start to a year that is going blazingly fast. But we cannot go without our DIY indie music discovery activities, nor can we hold back from sharing some of the most talented, interesting, different, original and promising DIY artists and bands that we’ve come across.
These completely DIY, mostly unknown artists and bands stood out among hundreds of submissions. We picked them because of the level of musical talent; the catchiness of their track and overall production value. These should be BIGGER recording artists with tens of thousands of plays, sold-out shows and blog posts/press articles touting their achievements – even if judging from the one track we are presenting.
Of course, it is no surprise we are pushing these artists/bands to higher visibility via our popular top 10 indie songs playlists. These are DIY artists and bands that need to be heard and to be loved. It’s always been heart-breaking (in little ways) to us when amazing, different and talented DIY artists and bands get lost to the non-stop waterfall of noise around 30-40 artists and bands in the indie/alternative/rock realm.
Falling For You https://soundcloud.com/blisswilliams/falling-for-you
Bliss Williams – “Falling For You”
Bio: London-based Bliss Williams remains well-acquainted with unrequited love. So he thought it was about time he wrote another song about it. The second in a series of singles for the 2020/21 season, following his well-received debut offering ‘Thought I Was Young’, Williams is looking.
Location: London, England
Genre: Indie pop; dream pop
Members: Bliss Williams – vocals, all instruments and production
Musical Influences: The Style Council, Amy Winehouse, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Bee Gees
Instagram: blisswilliamsmusic
Song Bio (from the artist): “Produced at his flat in London, Williams’ debut offering pitches shuffling drums and pocket bass against sweeping electric guitars and swirling, yearning vocals.”
Release Date: 02/15/2021
Monrad – “One Stop Shop”
Monrad is the solo moniker of Matthew Ramon. Kortrijk born and raised but in need of new challenges and discovery, he left Belgium, wandering around for several years before settling down in the small Italian village of Medesano.
Although part of a reverb-drenched, instrumental surf punk band for most of his twenties (Rencontrez L’amour), he got together with Filip Tanghe (recording and/or live engineering Balthazar, Warhaus), and recorded some of his first songs, trying to step away from more conventional song structures.
After two years of digging deeper, nurturing and maturing his music, and finding his voice, Monrad went back to Tanghe and recorded, together with Bert Desmet and Gijs Coucke, his first full-length album Wired.
Location: Medesano, Italy
Genre: Indie rock
Members: Matthew Ramon – all instruments and vocals
Facebook: monradsound
Song Bio (from the artist): “With a dark voice, floating somewhere between singing and parlando, propelling drums, seductive bass, and atmospheric guitars, Monrad takes you to layered territories where harmony and tension start to intertwine…I took my Fender Telecaster, plugged into a Fender Bass breaker head, reverb fully open (a remnant of my surf music days). I started recording the first and second riff in Cubase. Once I lay down the basic structure of the song, I focus on the drum and bass parts, followed by synths and pianos. Like that, layer by layer, I start building the song…The bounciness of the song reflects the ups and down in our mood, energy, and needs. However, somehow we eventually manage to cast aside the more negative feelings and find a way to stand up, crawl back from our inside that maze that sucks you in.”
Release Date: 03/14/2021
Hazey – “Bliss”
Hazey is a Bristol-based indie-pop duo that provides energy and mystery to the rock scene. The pair certainly aren’t afraid to express their weird side and want to share their fun outlook on life through Hazey.
Their debut single “Kimberly” gained strong support from UK radio stations such as BBC Radio Bristol & BCFM.
Location: Bristol, England
Genre: rock,pop,synt,pkpp,altr
Musical Influences: FOALS, The Killers, Deaf Havana, The 1975, Don Broco, Turnover & The Cure.
Members: Tim Brown – guitar/bass/vocals; Justin Wilkinson – drums/vocals
Facebook: hazeybanduk
Song Bio: “Written during a time of uncertainty, confusion and reflection. ‘Bliss’ is a collection of emotions that are repeatedly flowing through the mind when feeling lost. In a situation where we need to reach out and unite, it is apparent that a select few have taken the opportunity to profit from the suffering of the helpless many.
Dreamy intervals midway and towards the end of the track represent the calm and peacefulness that we receive from detaching ourselves from society. This is our most laid-back song and we love how it’s enabled us to connect on a more intimate level with our music.”
Release Date: 03/2/2021
Venray – “No Place”
Bio: Venray is an independent rock power-duo, alternatively labeled as ‘surf-grunge ‘or ‘garage-punk’. Venray’s sound has been called “catchy AF”, and duo is characterized by their sing-along melodies, giant hooks, and high energy, dynamic live performances. Spanning several genres, venray songs range from breezy ballads to crunchy rippers that will appeal to fans of Pile, Car Seat Headrest, Wavves, and Top Nachos.
Location: Washington, D.C.
Genre: hard rock, indie rock, garage rock
Musical Influences: Stove, Pixies, Ovlov, Ty Segall, Pink Mexico, and Foo Fighters
Members: Tyler Bergin – Vocals, Guitars, Bass; Christopher Peli – drums, percussion, vocals
Soundcloud: /venrayband/
Song Bio (from the artist): Not provided
Fletcher Milloy – “Raskolnikov”
Blending hyper-pop production and psychedelic prowess with captivating lyrics, Fletcher Milloy is proving themself to be a pioneer of a sound that is completely their own. Fletcher Milloy, has performed in lineups alongside the Killers, the Roots and many others, as well as being featured in the international top 10 of NPR Music’s Tiny Desk contest
(2020). Quickly rising on TikTok, with over 250,000 views, Raskolnikov may be the finalé to the Astronaut Trilogy, but is only the beginning of a new sound and promising artistic career.
Location: Los Angeles, California
Genre(s): psyc,altr,expe
Has Opened For: The Killers, The Roots, HAIM, Death Cab for Cutie
Musical Influences: LCD Soundsystem, Bowie, Prince, Talking Heads
Members: Fletcher Milloy. Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vox, Keys
Instagram: /fletchermilloy/
Song Bio (from the artist): “‘Raskolnikov’ is the final installment of my Astronaut Trilogy EP. It’s inspired by psychedelic pop & 19th century Russian literature (Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky). I wrote the song about spending my early life heavily involved in the evangelical church. I found myself in a constant state of panic trying to navigate and appease a socio-political circle that by default ostracized me for my participation in night life and parties.
The track is message to myself and others that to become a new person the preceding role and character i created in that environment must be put to rest .”