Welcome to “This Week’s Sonic Safari,” where we will be taking you on a thrilling adventure through the vibrant world of independent music. We’ll wander across beautiful lush soundscapes in this sonic journey, looking for hidden gems and digging up musical treasures created by brilliant musicians from all around the world. Our journey promises to be an intriguing investigation of originality and invention, from the busy streets of indie music to the peaceful woods of acoustic folk.
So secure your seat in, set your headphones, and come along with us as we embark on a musical exploration of the highest calibre, ready to experience the amazing variety of this week’s best and newest songs.
Soul Zimon & His Kozmic Combinations – Cabin Fever
The brand-new single from the band Soul Zimon & His Kozmic Combinations, titled “Cabin Fever,” is hauntingly beautiful. From the first strum of a guitar, it instantly wraps listeners into its melancholic yet dreamy sonic environment. It captures those lonely, long days of isolation. The deep sense of nostalgia evoked is vintage in color but based on Americana, Blues, Folk-Rock, and Alt-Country. There is such texture to Soul Zimon’s voice, which suits the dry and open space that the song itself describes: it makes one feel like they’re walking through some forgotten countryside, barely able to hold out hope for connection or freedom. “Cabin Fever” brilliantly translates the feeling of being confined for too long into lassitude and irritability, which many can relate to.
Soul Zimon & The Kozmic Combinations make a timeless, modern amalgam of sound: blending those classic country/folk influences with a contemporary twist. For some reason, the melancholic feel of the song doesn’t embrace sorrow but deals with finding beauty in loneliness. This is an invitation to seek strength from the silence, to find peace in quiet moments, and to let the music guide your way through roads that open up in your mind. Take a deep breath, set your intentions, and let Soul Zimon, with his Kozmic Combinations, take you on a cosmic journey through sound and emotion.
The Tame and the Wild – These Waves
A beautiful infusion of introspection and the beauty of nature, “These Waves” is The Tame and the Wild’s new single. From the very first note, one is carried away to the calm shores with such a feel of golden sands and sun-kissed bays. A repeating wish, “Oh, let these waves carry me,” echoes right into your soul with a sense of wanting—for escape and peace. This sacred and melancholy sound is overlaid with that of a male choir that continuously begins to fill the sonic space, deepening Seja’s hauntingly repetitive chorus lines. The song is rich in imagery but raw in emotion; it honestly sticks to the heart and mind, quite like the gentle ebb and flow of the sea.
In their indie-folk songs, the singers and songwriters of the duo The Tame and the Wild, led by Seja & Flëpp, intertwine deftly human feelings and elements of surrounding nature. Sounding nostalgic, their songs embody the sea, stars, and the course of time. And to that rubric belongs “These Waves”: it’s a story of youth and age, of resiliency and love, of boldness and resignation, of honesty and memory. This is in this track where influences from Daughter to Angus & Julia Stone can be quickly and clearly singled out, encouraging the listener to get into personal moments often interwoven into landscapes. Such is the case with “These Waves,” where The Tame and the Wild can say that they can make music that sounds honestly personal and quite universal.
HD Bradley – Forever and Tonight
After a three year hiatus, Chicago-based singer-songwriter HD Bradley has resurfaced with an entrancing “Forever and Tonight.” Initially conceived to be some sort of folksy tune, it grew into something much more dreamy and guitar-saturated—an immersion in personal introspections and his experience with OCD. The track opens with a delicate melody in strumming before it evolves into this thick tapestry of sound. The dense, layered guitars in the song’s final third are a perfect match for the introspective lyrics. Bradley gives an honest performance, and within the softly decorated musical landscape, “Forever and Tonight” feels beautiful and captivating from beginning to end.
Comparable with artists such as Lord Huron and Snow Patrol, HD Bradley effortlessly combines indie-folk sensitivity with a dreamy vocal aesthetic. “Forever and Tonight” captures that essence of timeless storytelling through music, painting vivid emotional landscapes with each strum and lyric. He’s able to turn personal experience into universally relatable songs that just give a taste of his songwriting prowess. So, sit back and let the guitars wash over you all dreamy in “Forever and Tonight.”
Air Traffic Controller – Anybody Got A Light? (DASH Acoustic Sessions)
Air Traffic Controller’s newest release “Anybody Got A Light? (DASH Acoustic Sessions),” has the energy captured in its raw form. Shot in their rehearsal space, this live acoustic video captures frontman Dave Munro, Emi McSwain, and Bobby Borenstein performing an emotionally sung single off DASH. With spontaneity at the core, recorded by drummer Adam Salameh and mixed by DASH producer Dan Cardinal, it all adds to gushing authenticity that fans will love. Munro is a powerhouse of a vocalist, with her soothing quality being just as effective as the strength in the acoustic arrangement that supports the poignant lyrical concept of finding light even in dark times that was all inspired by a fleeting moment of post-pandemic euphoria.
Not that anyone pegs them as pure indie pop, but there has always been that folkier bit of Air Traffic Controller. Blessed with that, the acoustic set was a natural beauty. This is where the band’s versatility comes in. The easy shift between their full-band alt-rock sound to this more stripped, introspective style is enviable. Their adaptability and survival in even the direst straits speak of tremendous resilience. ATC has put out five albums and is showing no signs of letting up. With such upcoming activities like festival appearances, a new tour, and more recordings, there’s no stopping now. For those just getting acquainted with ATC via this performance, the studio version of “Anybody Got A Light?” showcases a lush alt-rock experience that fits nicely with the acoustic version.
Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based singer/songwriter, founder of Sounds On The Couch, and founder and operator of boutique music PR service for emerging and independent artists, Rise Indie.